Peer-to-peer exchanges are a vital component of INHOPE’s training and capacity-building initiatives, fostering collaboration and sharing knowledge across our network of hotlines. These exchanges enhance the effectiveness of our network by building strong connections and facilitating the exchange of best practices. We spoke to Aikaterini Boulnakaki from SafeLine about her recent exchange with the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) which took place in July 2024.
We started the two-day exchange with a tour of the IWF’s offices and an introduction to their welfare policies, followed by deep dives into their work with child abuse sites, hashing criminal images, and how AI is being used to generate illegal content. We also shadowed analysts and assessors, seeing firsthand how they find and assess child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on the Clearnet and dark web.
The highlights of the exchange were the presentation for the ‘ICAP’ sites, the overview and real-life examples of ‘disguised’ websites and Shadowing Assessors (hashing). The IWF was the top INHOPE reporter in 2023, across the entire network. So, it was guaranteed that my visit would be very insightful and helpful.
My biggest takeaway was the importance IWF places on staff welfare. I also gained significant knowledge about ‘ICAP’ sites and ‘disguised’ websites, which I plan to apply back at SafeLine.
Both from the side of INHOPE and from the side of the hotline, everything was perfectly organised and I don't see any room for improvement. I wish all hotlines in the network would use the possibility of exchange to gain from the knowledge and experience of other organisations.
Peer Exchanges are a vital part of INHOPE's services, fostering collaboration within our network and providing hotlines the chance to share insights and expertise. Your support makes this possible! Funding enables us to offer essential services that keep our network running at full capacity.
Interested in getting involved? Explore our partnership opportunities or reach out to samantha.woolfe@inhope.org to discuss other ways we can work together.
