"We're giving them weapons": Charlotte O'Brien's parents call for social media ban
The parents of a young girl who took her own life after being bullied have joined a campaign to raise the age limit for social media.
Charlotte O'Brien was a student at Santa Sabina College in Sydney’s inner west, where she dealt with relentless bullying which led to the 12-year-old's tragic death.
Now, her parents Mat Howard and Kelly O’Brien appeared on 60 Minutes to ask “how many more Charlottes do we need to lose” before action was taken to protect kids from harm online.
When asked if she believed Charlotte would still be alive if social media was off limits to young children, Ms O’Brien replied: “Absolutely”.
“My personal opinion. Giving our kids these phones, we’re giving them weapons, we’re giving them the world at their fingertips,” the grieving mother said.
In the days after the young girl's death, it was revealed her parents had pleaded with her school to address “friendship issues” Charlotte was facing.
Mr Howard told 60 Minutes that despite her “ongoing struggles” the last two weeks of Charlotte’s life were “the best two weeks that I can remember with her”, adding, "We thought we were really turning the corner.”
“You know she’d come home from school that day and she’d had a great day. Kelly had made her favourite dinner that night. And that night she skipped off to bed, literally skipped. And we never saw her again.”
Her family revealed a “completely distressed” Charlotte spoke to a friend on her phone the night she died, and shared messages she had been sent online.
“So we can’t say exactly what we’ve been told, but what I will tell you is what we’ve been told is some of the worst words that anybody should have to read, let alone a 12-year-old girl,” Mr Howard said.
Recalling the heart-wrenching moment they found their daughter's body, Ms O'Brien said she pleaded for answers from police on how she would've taken her own life.
“I just kept saying to the police that morning, ‘Where did she get the knowledge and the means? Where did she get the knowledge and the means?’,” she said.
“I couldn’t wrap my head around it, and he (the police officer) just said to me, ‘This is the age of information. She just needed to Google it’. And for me, I’m so devastated by that because I gave her that phone.”
Charlotte’s parents have travelled to Canberra to meet with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, ahead of legislation to raise the age of using social media from 13 to 16.
“I intend to say, ‘Please, Mr. Albanese, raise the age of social media to 16, because 36
months could change a lifetime’. That’s what I’m going to say,” Ms O’Brien said.
Mr Howard said, “Charlotte was not the first and she’s already not the last. And this will continue to happen unless we make the right decisions.”
The controversial bill to raise the age on social media platforms is set to go before Australia’s federal parliament this week, with support from both major parties.
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Image credits: 2GB / Kids Helpline