2020 News: Safeguarding

19/04/2021: Priti Patel: Facebook encryption plan ‘must not hamper child protection’

Facebook’s plans to roll out encryption across its messaging services could jeopardise ongoing work to combat child abuse, the Home Secretary is to warn. Such encryption means only the sender and . . . recipient can read messages. “We cannot allow a situation where law enforcement’s ability to tackle abhorrent criminal acts and protect victims is severely hampered,” Priti Patel will tell a charity-hosted event. Facebook says its plans for wider encryption protects users’ privacy.
BBC

19/04/2021: Facebook encryption plans will hit fight against child abuse, warns Patel

NSPCC fears end-to-end encryption of messages will make tools that identify grooming and images of abuse useless. Home secretary Priti Patel will call for tech companies including Facebook to “live up . . . to their moral duty” and do more to safeguard children in a roundtable discussion about end-to-end message encryption.
Guardian

14/04/2021: LGBT homelessness: ‘I had to pretend to be straight’

For Sara, university was a ticket out of an abusive home. Sara, who identifies as queer, says she was used to hiding her identity from her Muslim family and pretending to be straight when accessing . . . services. But her mental health worsened after spending holidays alone in empty student halls. “I had a roof over my head but no-one else to talk to. My mental health got really bad and I ended up dropping out. I was going to be homeless so I ended up going back to my abusive household,” she says.
BBC