Child Safety Standards

Any image, video, audio, text, or other material that sexually depicts, exploits, or abuses a minor is absolutely prohibited. This includes:

• ●Photographs, videos, or illustrations depicting sexual acts involving a child
• ●Digitally created, AI-generated, or animated content depicting minors in a sexual manner
• ●Any content that sexualises a child, regardless of artistic or fictional framing
• ●Links, references, or directions to CSAM hosted on external platforms

Grooming is the process of building trust with a child (or their caregivers) with the intent of facilitating sexual abuse, exploitation, or trafficking. The following are prohibited:

• ●Initiating contact with minors for the purpose of establishing a sexual relationship
• ●Using the platform to gather personal information from minors for exploitative purposes
• ●Attempting to move communication with a minor to a private or off-platform channel for exploitative purposes
• ●Sending sexually suggestive messages, images, or materials to a minor
• ●Offering gifts, money, or other incentives to minors in exchange for sexual content or contact

• ●Soliciting, facilitating, or promoting the commercial sexual exploitation of minors
• ●Advertising or recruiting children for trafficking
• ●Sharing or distributing materials that document child trafficking or exploitation
• ●Using the platform's community features to identify or target vulnerable minors

• ●Publishing content that normalises, glorifies, or encourages child sexual abuse or exploitation
• ●Sharing advice or instructions on how to gain sexual access to minors
• ●Coordinating with other users to perpetrate any of the prohibited conduct listed above

• ●Sharing verified information about genuinely missing children to increase public visibility
• ●Reporting credible sightings to assist families and caregivers
• ●Coordinating community search efforts in cases of child abduction or disappearance

• ●Filing a false or fabricated missing child report
• ●Using a missing child report to gather information for exploitative purposes
• ●Identifying the location of a child for the purposes of trafficking, abduction, or abuse

Every incident report, missing person report, and user profile on SafeRoute Africa includes a Report function. To report a child safety concern:

• ●Tap the three-dot menu (⋮) or Report button on any post, report, or profile
• ●Select the appropriate reason — choose "Child Safety" or "Inappropriate Content"
• ●Add any additional details to help our moderation team assess the concern
• ●Submit the report — you will receive a confirmation that it has been received

For serious or urgent child safety concerns — including any suspected CSAM or active exploitation — contact us directly at:

If you believe a child is in immediate physical danger, contact local emergency services first (112, 911, or your local emergency number). Submit a report to SafeRoute Africa in addition to, not instead of, contacting emergency services.

• ●Image analysis: photos uploaded to the platform are processed to detect known CSAM signatures using industry-standard hash-matching techniques where technically available
• ●Content filters: automated keyword and pattern detection flags potentially harmful content for human review
• ●Anomaly detection: unusual reporting patterns or account behaviour that may indicate targeting of minors are flagged for review

• ●All flagged content and user-submitted child safety reports are reviewed by our moderation team
• ●Child safety reports are prioritised above all other moderation queues
• ●Our team is trained to identify and escalate child safety violations appropriately
• ●Reviewers do not retain or share CSAM material under any circumstances

We aim to action child safety reports as promptly as possible. Urgent reports involving active risk to a child are escalated immediately. All other child safety reports are reviewed within a reasonable timeframe.

An account may be immediately suspended pending investigation if it is associated with:

• ●A credible report of CSAM or CSAE
• ●Suspected grooming or targeted contact with a minor
• ●Misuse of the missing persons feature to locate or target a child
• ●Any content or conduct that poses an immediate risk to a child's safety

Accounts confirmed to have violated our child safety standards are permanently banned without appeal. This includes:

• ●Any account confirmed to have hosted, shared, or solicited CSAM
• ●Any account confirmed to have engaged in grooming, exploitation, or trafficking of a minor
• ●Any account that attempts to circumvent a prior suspension related to child safety

• ●Discovery of CSAM on our platform triggers mandatory reporting obligations in the jurisdictions where such laws apply
• ●Credible, imminent threats to a child's physical safety may be shared with law enforcement without prior notice to the user involved
• ●We will respond to lawful court orders, warrants, and legal processes issued by competent authorities
• ●In an emergency involving risk to life, we may proactively contact law enforcement even in the absence of a court order, where we believe disclosure is necessary to prevent serious harm

Reports involving children — particularly reports of suspected grooming, trafficking, abuse, or CSAM — may be escalated to:

• ●Local and national law enforcement agencies in the relevant jurisdiction
• ●National child protection agencies and hotlines
• ●The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline (where applicable under US law or platform obligations)
• ●Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) or equivalent regional bodies

SafeRoute Africa requires users to be at least 13 years of age. Users aged 13–17 should use the platform with the knowledge and consent of a parent or guardian. We do not knowingly create accounts for users under 13 years of age.

All incident and safety reports on SafeRoute Africa can be submitted anonymously. This protects children (and adult witnesses) who may fear retaliation when reporting abuse or exploitation.

SafeRoute Africa never stores or transmits exact GPS coordinates. All location data is approximated before it is stored or shared with other users. This design decision specifically reduces the risk that location data could be used to physically locate or track a child.

SafeRoute Africa does not include a direct messaging or private chat feature between users. This design choice eliminates one of the primary vectors through which grooming and exploitation occur on social platforms.

Our platform uses a community trust and validation model for incident reports. Newly registered accounts with no community trust history have limited visibility, reducing the ability of malicious actors to spread harmful content immediately after registration.

We collect the minimum personal information necessary to operate the platform. We do not collect date of birth, school, or other information that would make it easier for third parties to identify or target individual children.