Hotlines' staff welfare at the heart of the job

Dealing with harmful content such as child sexual abuse material or online terrorist propaganda is not an easy task. Harmful content may affect all those who are exposed to it in their professional capacity. All organisations dedicated to handle and process such content must safeguard the well-being of their staff. 

Date 2019-03-12 Author Point de Contact, the French hotline Section awareness, hotlines

That is why the French hotline Point de Contact published a white paper named "Child sexual abuse material and online terrorist propaganda – Tackling illegal content and ensuring staff welfare. A public-private cooperation".

Point de Contact worked closely with hands-on professionals from the French law enforcement agencies, industry, and psychologists whose contributions resulted in a set of good practices on how to tackle illegal content while ensuring staff welfare.

The handbook is aimed at professionals from the industry, but also law enforcement agencies and NGOs. Hotline analysts follow and are protected by INHOPE Staff Welfare Best Practice. But what about analysts in other entities? Is there a welfare policy always in place, and if yes, is it efficient? The French hotline took the initiative to share its standards with employees in other sectors.

Setting up the workplace environment, establishing working conditions, ensuring psychological support are some of the categories of recommendations that can be found in this document. If your work is to process harmful content online or if you feel that such a document is needed in your country, download this document and elaborate on similar guidelines applicable in your national context.

For more information, read the full article (in French), and visit the French hotline's INHOPE page.

Find out more information about the work of the French Safer Internet Centre (SIC) generally, including its awareness raising, helpline, hotline and youth participation services, or find similar information for Safer Internet Centres throughout Europe.

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