Our principles
The rules we hold ourselves to, in our publications, our help pages and anything we build.
The child's interests come first
When there is a conflict between protecting a child and anything else (a story, a deadline, traffic to our site, our own reputation) the child's protection wins. This applies to children we write about and to children who use our pages.
Do no further harm
- We never publish a child's name, image or details that could identify a child who has been harmed, even if they have been published elsewhere.
- We do not publish sexual images of children in any form, describe abuse in graphic detail, or give information that could help someone harm a child or find abusive material.
- We do not ask anyone to retell a traumatic experience in order to get help from us.
- We write about suicide and self-harm following the World Health Organization's guidance for media: no details of methods, no sensational language, and always a route to support.
Accuracy
Every factual statement we publish is linked to a source. We say what is known, what is not, and how sure we are. We never invent figures, people, quotes or stories, and we do not present composite or imagined cases as real. Mistakes are corrected openly, with a note saying what changed. Our full rules are in the editorial policy.
No vigilantism
We do not identify, name or pursue suspected offenders, publish accusations against private individuals, or pose as children online. Investigating crimes against children is the work of police and specialist services, and amateur intervention can destroy evidence and put children at greater risk.
Honest about what we are
We do not describe plans as achievements, links as partnerships, or visits to our site as children helped. Every programme on this site shows its real status. Our impact page explains how we will count our results before we publish any.
Independence
No funder, platform or government can review or change our research before it is published. When we accept money, we will publish where it came from and say how we keep it separate from our editorial decisions. When we examine a company, we give it a fair chance to respond and publish its answer.
Privacy by default
Our public site sets no tracking cookies, uses no advertising or analytics scripts and never asks for your location. You can use Get Help and Report a Concern without giving any personal information. See our privacy notice.
Working with children directly
KIFOV does not currently work face to face with children. Before any programme does, it will need a named safeguarding lead, trained and vetted staff, procedures for handling disclosures, and legal advice for each country involved.