A social media ban for young children is “a brilliant idea” for tackling abuse, the chair of a domestic violence charity has said.
Hetti Barkworth-Nanton, chair of Refuge charity, emphasised the link between an increase in schoolchildren experiencing sexual harassment and abuse and social media after she was made a CBE on Thursday.
Speaking after the ceremony at Buckingham Palace, Ms Barkworth-Nanton referenced the news that the Australian Senate had passed a social media ban for under 16s, saying it was “absolutely the right way to go”.
“Personally, I think it’s a brilliant idea, and I think it ties really neatly in with the work we do around tech abuse,” she said.
“If you can do it in a way in which you don’t isolate young people, which is the other challenge, and we can turn that into the norm, then I think it’s absolutely the right way to go,” she added.
Ms Barkworth-Nanton, who is also the co-founder and patron of the Joanna Simpson Foundation, was honoured by the Princess Royal for services to people affected by domestic abuse and homicide.
She said: “We are seeing something like well over 30% of young girls in schools are saying that they have experienced sexual harassment or abuse, and that is direct result of social media and often that’s being done on social media so that images are being shared.”
Asked what could be done to prevent young people accessing harmful content, Ms Barkworth-Nanton said schools should be “proactive” in banning phones and that social media and technology companies need to “work together” to ensure algorithms do not “specifically target dangerous content to young people.”
We are seeing something like well over 30% of young girls in schools are saying that they have experienced sexual harassment or abuse, and that is direct result of social media and often that’s being done on social media so that images are being shared.
Hetti Barkworth-Nanton, chair of domestic violence charity Refuge
On ending domestic violence, she said: “The most important thing would be absolutely the education situation today in our schools, brought on by influencers like Andrew Tate and ready access to pornography, where young boys are abusing young girls in our schools, and that’s the generation that’s growing up.”
An “absolute overhaul” of the criminal justice system is also needed, she added, as many survivors do not report abuse to police as they do not trust they will “get the right response.”
One in five adults experiences domestic abuse in their lifetime, and it is estimated that around three women die by suicide as a result of domestic abuse every week.
Every 30 seconds, someone calls 999 about domestic abuse, however it is estimated that less than 24% of the crime is reported to police.