Victim / survivor privacy and dignity

The protection of the victims’ privacy and dignity by the timely removal of all exploitative material.

Removing exploitative and abusive material is critical for victims of CSEA online. It can also avoid any further re-traumatisation for the victim caused by re-sharing the abusive material.
Understanding that the material has been removed may be an important step for an individual victim’s emotional recovery, dignity and future mental health.
The removal of harmful material, combined with the procedures and actions listed in capabilities 9, 10 and 12, can help give child victims and survivors more confidence, control and power over important choices within their lives.

Effective coordination across all relevant stakeholders (including civil society, law enforcement, child protection services, business and government regulators) will ensure an effective and non-duplicative response and provision of victim support.
A pre-agreed understanding (e.g. a response plan) should outline (i) who is responsible for identifying and removing the abusive material from certain locations or sites, and (ii) how this is done (i.e. via reporting platforms, police and tech companies). National, regional and international considerations, as well as capacity, responsibility, resources, access and language are key considerations for when agreeing a response plan. When developing plans, focus should remain on the most effective response for the child.
The continued development and wider application of hashes, AI, filters and other content removal tools is important for delivering faster and more accurate identification and removal of exploitative material.
Further training across organisations, countries and continents on the removal of abusive material will increase the capacity and availability of individuals qualified to respond in an appropriate and qualified manner.
Any communication with victims on this matter must be done by a qualified professional and in line with data protection regulations and agreed victim communications standard operating procedures.

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