Victim Identification
A global victim identification operation comprised of experts from around the world that use technology and resources to quickly identify and rescue children who are being sexually exploited online.
Why It Matters
The Problem
Through our work in Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation and our close relationships with law enforcement, we have come to learn that the videos and images of more than 50,000 unidentified children being abused, raped, and tortured are sitting in a global law enforcement database. These crime scene images, known as CSAM – child sexual abuse material, contain clues that could help locate and protect these children. With more than 36 million pieces of CSAM reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children CyberTipline in 2023 alone, we have to come together now to address this growing issue and get to these lives.
While there are so many heroes working to identify and protect children who are being sexually exploited, they are simply overwhelmed, under-resourced, and outnumbered by offenders. Identifying one child is a labor-intensive process as victim identification specialists need to piece together clues from the images that lead to a location, such as the country, city, and the specific location of the child. Only then can local law enforcement bring that child to safety and arrest the perpetrator.
The Solution
We believe there are three ways we can help push back this evil:
Unite: By coming alongside law enforcement around the world, our goal is to unite them together as one team to identify and protect as many of the more than 50,000 unidentified children as possible.
Train and Equip: By training and equipping analysts and investigators with the best and latest technology, they can fight this battle in their home countries.
Prevention: Through legislation, we can create an specialized workforce that can use advanced technology to keep pace with identifying the thousands of new victims seen every year.
Key Stats
Children Identified
800+
Children Rescued
250+
Law Enforcement Trained
4,000+
Countries Reached
30+
Timeline
2023
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Global Victim Identification Meeting
TTF initiated an international gathering in Lyon, France, in partnership with Onemi-Global Solutions and the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children. At this meeting, the world’s top victim identification experts convened. At this meeting, TTF learned that there are more than 50,000 boys and girls around the world that law enforcement has seen in abuse images, but who have not been identified. The idea for Operation Renewed Hope originated from this meeting.
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Operation Renewed Hope
The HSI Cyber Crimes Center’s (C3) Child Exploitation Investigations Unit completed Operation Renewed Hope I, resulting in the generation of 316 probable identifications of previously unknown victims. This three-week surge was the first US-based, multi-national collaboration led by HSI and Interpol, working together with the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in partnership with the Tim Tebow Foundation.
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Project Arachnid
TTF begins to support the Canadian Centre for Child Protection’s Project Arachnid, which unifies automated CSAM detection methods with a team of dedicated analysts around the world to quickly send removal notices to electronic service providers. Project Arachnid's activities have led to millions of images and videos of CSAM being removed from 1,000+ electronic service providers spanning nearly 100 countries worldwide.
2024
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Nepal Training
TTF partners with the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC) to spearhead a groundbreaking training session on Victim-Centric Interviewing in Nepal; 52 law enforcement officers and prosecutors trained.
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Operation Renewed Hope II
The Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Cyber Crimes Center’s (C3) Child Exploitation Investigations Unit conducted Operation Renewed Hope II, resulting in the probable identification of 414 previously unknown child sexual abuse victims. More than 250 children have been rescued around the world through Operation Renewed Hope I and II.
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Voice for the Voiceless
Tim Tebow testifies before House Judiciary Committee on behalf of child sexual abuse victims. His testimony brought to light the more than 50,000 children around the world who are being sexually abused, but are unknown.
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Romania Training
In partnership with the U.S. Ambassador to Romania – Kathleen Kavalec, Homeland Security Investigations, the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, Child Rescue Coalition, and the Tim Tebow Foundation, a training on child exploitation and victim identification was hosted in Romania. At this training, 100 participants attended from Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine.
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Brazil Training and Operation
In partnership with Onemi-Global Solutions and international law enforcement partners, TTF supported a two-week training in Brazil which brought 23 investigators together from across Brazil to learn the most advanced techniques in identifying victims seen in child sexual abuse material. Immediately following the training, after applying these techniques, the police were able to identify 12 new victims.
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Global Operation at Europol
Alongside Homeland Security Investigations, Child Rescue Coalition, the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, and the Tim Tebow Foundation, 32 investigators from around the world gathered for a weeklong sprint operation to investigate offenders paying for the live-stream sexual abuse of children from the Philippines. This operation generated leads to 197 buyers of live-stream child abuse.
Join the Mission
