Online safety | Recommendations for Change: a series about the IICSA final report - episode 4

Being online is an integral part of children’s lives, but it can expose them to risks, including sexual abuse. The past five years has seen a proliferation in child sexual abuse material online, and IICSA’s investigations into the problem found that law enforcement is struggling to keep pace.In this episode of Recommendations for Change, we explore the scale of the online abuse problem and how the IICSA recommendations and the new Online Safety Act seek to tackle the issue. The episode covers the importance of implementing online protections for children and what professionals can do to keep children safe online. You’ll also learn how law enforcement responds to online-facilitated CSA.> Read the podcast transcriptAbout the speakersSusie Hargreaves is the Chief Executive of the Internet Watch Foundation. She is a member of the National Crime Agency (NCA) Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Command Strategic Governance Group and an Executive Board member of the UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCIS).Ian Critchley is the National Police Chiefs Council Lead for Child Protection, Abuse and Investigation, a role he has held for three years. Ian’s role is to enhance and develop the police service in its prevention and response to child abuse working with Chief Constables, the College of Policing and statutory and charitable partners across the country. Ian was also formerly the Deputy Chief Constable of Merseyside Police.Further resources> Read the IICSA investigation into child sexual abuse and exploitation facilitated by the internet> Read the latest Internet Watch Foundation annual report> Learn more about online safety with our introductory elearning course> Read our article about what the Online Safety Act means for professionals> Find out more about how young people can use the Report Remove tool to take down nudes shared onlineAbout the seriesThe Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) published its final report in October 2022. The report was a comprehensive examination of institutional failings to protect children from sexual abuse, demonstrating the need for a wholesale change in how child sexual abuse (CSA) is tackled. The report highlighted 20 key recommendations that would contribute towards this change.This five-part podcast series explores these recommendations in more detail. A range of experts from both inside and outside of the NSPCC will break down why the recommendations are needed, how they’ll work if implemented, and what impact they might have on the prevention of child sexual abuse. The series is a useful introduction to the Inquiry for anyone who is working or volunteering with children and young people.Intro/outro music is This Too Shall Pass by Scott Buckley