Meet Amy Crocker, hotline development coordinator, INHOPE Foundation
INHOPE is a member-led network of 51 internet reporting hotlines in 45 countries worldwide. Together with industry partners, INHOPE members take action to stop the (re)circulation of child sexual abuse material on the internet while providing actionable intelligence to law enforcement which may lead to the arrest of offenders as well as the identification and rescue of child victims. INHOPE also provides support through its charitable arm, the INHOPE Foundation to start up internet reporting hotline initiatives around the world.
My role
My main role is to support the development of internet hotline initiatives around the world, working with them to develop capacity and eventually become members of the INHOPE network. To do this, I work closely with and rely on everyone in the team at INHOPE as well as with INHOPE member hotlines to promote and share the specialised technology, training and cooperation that underpin and drive our organisation. I provide technical support and act as a bridge between organisations that want to set up a hotline (but often lack the funding, specialised knowledge, political support or even legislation to do so), and the people and organisations in our network that are best placed to help them.
What makes me happy in my work
I’m happy when I see this direct support in action, and when the collective of organisations working in this field achieve genuine cross-fertilisation of ideas, processes and activities. And I don’t mean this in an abstract way, rather, the work that INHOPE and its member hotlines do is contributing in diverse but concrete ways to the reduction of online victimisation and to the identification of the children depicted in this material every day around the world.
Apart from the very serious nature of the topic we work on, it can sometimes be frustrating when this type of cooperation takes longer than expected to take shape. However, the positives of what has been achieved in recent years far outweigh the negatives. Success is as much about the journey as the destination!
In 10 year’s time ...
If the last 10 years are anything to go by, the landscape and the way we operate will of course be very different in 2025.
INHOPE and its member hotlines will inevitably adapt to evolutions in the use and misuse of digital technology and the internet, and to changes in the legislation and governance environment that defines how they can operate. In the coming years, we also need legislation on this issue to move forward all around the world, and adapt faster to keep up with technology.
The average internet user in 2025 will be more tech-savvy and connected than today, and the effects of the amazing prevention and education work being done today will be seen in the way children and young people are taught to protect themselves online. But as connectivity and the sheer volume of content being shared increases, it will remain crucial to ensure that every internet user knows where and how to make a report in a safe, secure, transparent and accountable way.
However developed the technology and processes to respond to this and other online issues become, what I really hope for in the coming decade is an increase in society’s understanding and acceptance of the prevalence and complexity of child sexual abuse as part of society, all around the world and regardless of culture.
Those in my field will continue to play a specific but important role in encouraging dialogue about online child sexual exploitation and abuse, and will continue to provide trusted reporting mechanisms around the world for the public to report their concerns.
Of course I would like to predict that the world of 2025 will be so evolved as to have no need for this field of work. However, while there is child sexual abuse material being produced and circulated online, INHOPE will continue to play its role in coordinated efforts to stop circulation and prevent re-victimisation.
My views on collaboration
Multistakeholder cooperation is essential, and success will be when each actor has a clear but adaptable role within the response ecosystem. The many challenges and opportunities should not be placed into siloes. If an internet hotline organisation can support law enforcement and industry partners, or industry can help law enforcement solve a technical challenge , or if law enforcement can help internet companies respond to challenges posed by misuse of their services, then they should be able to do so. The good news is that all of this is already happening.
Naturally, there is always more we can do. We must continue to work together to anticipate and interpret trends, keep on top of the technology curve, and educate policymakers and the public to these new challenges and their role in child online protection.
The leading changemakers
Aside from the INHOPE member hotlines that are driving the agenda in their countries every single day, the leading changemakers for me are all of the individuals and organisations around the world striving to put and keep this issue on the agenda, developing technologies that respond to very real challenges, or going the extra mile to identify the real child behind every child sexual abuse image or video. INHOPE works closely with numerous partners such as GSMA, UNICEF and the ITU to promote child online protection, with a number of partners through the #WePROTECT initiative, with expert civil society organisations such as ECPAT International and the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, with a wide range of large and small technology companies, and with Interpol, Europol, the Virtual Global Taskforce and many national law enforcement agencies around the world.
We are not powerless
INHOPE works hard to increase visibility of the issue by supporting existing and start-up internet reporting hotlines that work with digital citizens and encourage civic participation. INHOPE and its member hotlines work closely with the safer internet community at large and within safer internet platforms. In the context of the European Union, for example, INHOPE has a long-lasting and flourishing partnership with its dynamic consortium partner Insafe.
If I can leave only one message with everyone, it is that they are not powerless in the face of online content that they suspect represents the sexual exploitation of a child. If they see it, they can regain control and report it to their national internet hotline for expert assessment. In the UK for example, the public can report to the Internet Watch Foundation. Links to all our members around the world are available on INHOPE’s website.
Content on this page is paid for and provided by UNICEF, sponsor of the business and child rights hub.
