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Written by
International Team
10th September, 2024

Supporting families globally: our work with The Parents’ Network

Building on our work to support the UK Bereaved Families for Online Safety, we are proud to partner with the Archewell Foundation on the launch of The Parents’ Network, an international support network for families of children gravely impacted by online harms. Together, we will work to drive systemic change to create a digital environment that is safe and rights-respecting for children everywhere.

A woman on the left and a man in the middle. Both are sat on wooden chairs. They are positioned underneath a wooden stable. You can the trees and evening light towards the back of the stable. To the right of the man is an empty chair, used in this campaign to signify the child 'lost' to social media.

The digital world offers today’s children vast opportunities to learn, grow and connect. However, these benefits come with challenges because online platforms and services weren’t designed with children’s needs and rights in mind.

More than half of the children with an account on Instagram report that they experience at least one type of harm in a week. In the UK, 62% of children aged between 13 and 17 reported encountering harmful content online over a four-week period. 

Without stronger safety and privacy standards in place, online spaces expose children and young people to unacceptable levels of risk and harm, with terrible consequences for some. Parents alone cannot protect children and young people from the risks of the online environment.

It is for this reason that 5Rights, under the leadership of our Chair Baroness Beeban Kidron, supported the establishment of the Bereaved Families for Online Safety group. The families, who came together following a shared tragedy of having lost children due to exposure to online harms, played a key role in campaigning for robust measures for children in the UK Online Safety Act, and in particular for provisions allowing families and coroners to access data from tech companies in the case of the death of a child. 

The Parents’ Network, first established in the US, will allow affected families to connect, share their experiences, and support each other further.  Members will gain access to resources on how to deal with mental health struggles and guidelines on how to improve children’s safety on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.  In partnership with the Network, 5Rights Foundation will continue to support parents to amplify their voices and advocate for systemic change that ensures the digital world is safe and caters to children, and platforms are transparent and held accountable when harm occurs.