Frequently asked questions

WeBlame is an independent, technology-based trusted third party that enables victims and witnesses of all forms of violence to submit a testimony in a secure, encrypted environment.

Its mission is to tackle the isolation of victims by making it possible to identify whether other victims or witnesses of the same perpetrator may exist, through a secure system for cross-referencing reports.

WeBlame publishes no testimonies, no names and no accusations. Its role is not to judge, but to allow information that is currently scattered to come together.

WeBlame was born from a simple observation: 90% of witnesses or victims never file a complaint. Yet perpetrators of violence frequently harm several victims over their lifetime, and 90% of victims know their attacker.

In many cases revealed in recent years, the victims did not know one another and were completely unaware of each other’s existence. This isolation fosters impunity.

These cases show how the absence of any link between victims can allow some perpetrators to act for years, sometimes for decades. WeBlame was created to address this structural problem.

The objective is threefold:

• Breaking the isolation of victims — letting victims know that they are not alone.
• Bringing repeat offending to light — identifying independent reports that may concern the same perpetrator.
• Preventing further violence — the earlier repeat offending is detected, the more new victims can be prevented.

The figures show that:

• around 85% of victims of violence do not file a complaint;
• many victims wait several years before speaking out;
• perpetrators of violence frequently harm several victims;
• a large share of violence remains invisible to institutions.

WeBlame brings to light a reality that often escapes traditional reporting systems.

Anyone, adult or minor, who is a victim or witness of violence can submit a testimony. This includes in particular:

• Verbal violence
• Physical violence
• Psychological violence
• Sexist violence
• Sexual violence
• Violence against minors
• Intimate partner violence
• Post-separation violence
• Intra-family violence
• Economic violence
• Online violence
• Discriminatory violence
• Psychological harassment
• Sexual harassment
• Cyberbullying
• School violence
• Medical violence
• Institutional violence
• Workplace violence
• Trafficking and exploitation
• Violence against older people
• Violence against people with disabilities
• Cultural violence
• Violence against animals
• Police violence

No. WeBlame can be used independently of any legal proceedings. The platform also welcomes people who:

• do not wish to file a complaint;
• are not yet ready to do so;
• have already filed a complaint;
• have seen their complaint dismissed;
• simply wish to leave a secure record of their testimony.

Yes. Some victims or witnesses are only able to speak out several years, or even several decades, after the events. WeBlame welcomes both recent and older testimonies.

Submitting a testimony follows a structured process designed to make cross-referencing easier while guaranteeing the safety of the people involved.

Information about the victim or witness

• surname and first name;
• phone number;
• age at the time of the events;
• status (direct victim or witness);
• general circumstances of the events;
• period during which the events took place;
• email address.

Information about the person implicated

To enable reports to be cross-referenced, various details can be provided when known: surname, first name, socio-professional category, vehicle registration number, social media accounts or URLs. A testimony can be submitted even if not all of this information is known.

Testimonies concerning minors

WeBlame also accepts testimonies concerning minors. In particular, the form makes it possible to specify whether the victim was a minor at the time of the events, whether the person implicated was an adult or a minor, and the setting in which the events took place (family, school, sport, medical, community organisation, religious, etc.). This information matters because much of the violence against minors only comes to light several years after the events.

Why is this information requested?

This information is never used to publish or spread accusations. It is used solely by the algorithm to detect possible matches between several independent testimonies and to identify repeat offending that would otherwise remain invisible.

Once a testimony has been submitted, the process unfolds in several stages, with no automatic contact between people:

1. Analysis and cross-referencing — the algorithm automatically looks for matches between reports (same name, same social media account, same vehicle registration number, same recurring location, same context). The aim is not to identify a culprit, but to detect the possible existence of other victims or witnesses.
2. Review — when a significant match is detected, no contact is made automatically, no name is published and no information is disclosed. A human review is carried out.
3. Identity verification — before any contact is arranged: phone number verification, two-factor authentication, identity check, document check and photo verification where necessary.
4. Secure contact — with the explicit consent of the people concerned, contact can be arranged through a lawyer, a partner organisation or another trusted third party. No contact ever takes place without consent.

To contribute to prevention, awareness-raising and a better understanding of violence, WeBlame is developing a system of anonymous alerts and a map of violence.

No data that could identify a victim, a witness or a person implicated is ever published. Testimonies remain strictly confidential and protected by the platform’s security measures.

Only aggregated, non-identifying statistical data may be used, such as: the category or categories of violence concerned, the département (French administrative area) or country, the age group, gender and socio-professional category.

For example, an alert might indicate that a significant number of testimonies about a particular category of violence have been recorded in a given département, without ever making it possible to identify the people concerned.

These alerts are only published with the prior consent of the victims or witnesses concerned. It is therefore normal for the total number of testimonies submitted to differ from the number of alerts published: not every testimony leads to an alert, and everyone remains free to take part in this awareness-raising effort or not.

No. Testimonies submitted to WeBlame are never published. They are never:

• visible on the internet;
• accessible to the public;
• indexed by search engines.

They are fully secured and encrypted.

No. WeBlame publishes no names, no accusations, no testimonies and no reports. The platform is neither a social network nor a space for public denunciation.

Security is an absolute priority. Testimonies are stored in a secure environment using several layers of protection and encryption.

The data:

• is never made public;
• is protected against unauthorised access;
• is only accessible to authorised personnel.

Even in the extremely unlikely event of a security breach, the encrypted data would remain unusable without the decryption keys.

Only within the legal framework. Like any organisation that abides by the law, WeBlame may respond to a duly issued judicial request.

As with any self-reporting system, it is technically possible. However, scientific studies show that false accusations account for a small proportion of reports, generally estimated at between 2% and 5% — figures comparable to those observed for other crimes and offences.

WeBlame has been designed to reduce this risk even further. Its safeguards include phone number verification, two-factor authentication, identity checks, document checks, photo verification, human review and the involvement of legal professionals whenever contact is arranged.

The risk is extremely limited by the very design of the system. Unlike a post on the internet:

• no name is disclosed;
• no testimony is published;
• no accusation is made public;
• no user can access another user’s information.

WeBlame is not a space for public denunciation: the platform only makes it possible to identify whether other testimonies concerning the same person may exist.

No contact is ever made automatically. The people concerned are contacted individually. Contact can only be arranged after:

• identity verification;
• additional checks;
• the explicit consent of each person concerned.

The testimony remains stored securely and encrypted. It may be matched with testimonies submitted later, as some victims or witnesses only manage to speak out several years after the events.

Submitting a testimony is also an important first step. For many victims, putting into words what they have been through, in a safe space, is a cathartic step that helps to break the silence and begin a process of recovery.

Victims and witnesses can also be referred to legal, psychological or community support suited to their situation. When a testimony concerns a minor or reveals that a child is in danger, the reporting procedures required by law are triggered without waiting for a match. To date, this reporting procedure applies only to situations falling under French jurisdiction; it is not implemented for situations that occurred outside France.

No. WeBlame judges no one, conducts no investigations and makes no determination of guilt. Only the courts have the authority to establish responsibility. WeBlame is a complementary tool that helps victims break out of isolation.

Restorative justice, also known as reparative justice, refers to approaches that open up a safe space for dialogue about the consequences of the violence suffered, outside of or alongside legal proceedings. It replaces neither the complaint nor the trial: it establishes no guilt and imposes no sentence.

Its aim is to meet the needs of the people concerned: to be heard, to understand what happened, to have the harm they suffered acknowledged and to regain a sense of justice. The process is always voluntary and confidential, and can be stopped at any time.

WeBlame’s role

When submitting your testimony, you can indicate that you would like to pursue restorative justice. WeBlame does not provide this support itself: the platform refers people to specialised organisations.

The La Valise association

In particular, WeBlame refers people to La Valise, a French association, which offers reparative justice support to anyone affected by sexual, sexist or intimate violence, whether victims, their loved ones or perpetrators.

• support that is completely free of charge;
• in Toulouse or remotely;
• provided by specialised mediators;
• voluntary and confidential, and can be stopped at any time;
• out-of-court: independent of any legal proceedings.

Contact: associationlavalise.fr/contact.

No. The platform can refer victims to professionals, but does not provide personalised legal advice.

No. WeBlame does not provide any therapeutic follow-up, but can refer victims to specialised professionals.

To bring to light what remains invisible today. In the long term, WeBlame aims to become an independent observatory of systemic violence, making it possible:

• to better understand the mechanisms of repeat offending;
• to identify recurring patterns;
• to produce reliable data;
• to improve prevention;
• to inform public policy;
• to contribute to the protection of victims.

Our conviction is simple: if victims had been able to find out sooner that they were not alone, many cases would probably have come to light earlier and some victims could have been spared. WeBlame is the missing tool that makes this possible.

You can support WeBlame by:

• spreading the word about the platform;
• becoming an ambassador;
• proposing a partnership;
• joining our network of professionals;
• providing financial, material or technical support;
• contributing to the development of the platform;
• volunteering, by filling in our “Help us” form.

Through the contact form on this website, or by emailing the WeBlame team directly at contact@weblame.org.