Child sexual abuse victims in England and Wales to get help to remove online images

Victims of child sexual abuse in England and Wales will be given help to remove online images of their abuse as part of a wider package of support to end the “prolonged suffering of survivors”. The Echo project will help those who have reported their abuse to the police to identify and remove images of abuse online. They will also be given trauma support, the possibility of having a victim impact statement read in court against their perpetrators and the opportunity of criminal or civil compensation. Simon Bailey, the former national lead for child protection and chief constable of Norfolk, who is involved in the Echo project, said: “Children were being rescued but once the initial investigation into their child sexual abuse had been concluded, they just became another victim.” He hopes, if the programme is successful, it would be rolled out globally. It is being launched on Tuesday at the International Policing and Public Protection Research Institute (IPPPRI) annual conference. It is funded by the online safety and child abuse charities Safe Online and the Graham Dacre Foundation. Police forces across the country are assisting with the project. They are expected to identify and refer victims of child sexual abuse to Echo. The project will have access to the UK’s child abuse image database to help identify content on the open web and request its removal. This will be facilitated by the Internet Watch Foundation. AI is not involved in the project. …