Yesterday’s Safer Internet Day (11 February) was a prompt for the release of many reports and expert insights into online safety for young people. For one child safety advocate, though, her own message about why creating a safer online space for children and teenagers is intensely personal – and an issue very close to her heart.
Sonya Ryan founded The Carly Ryan Foundation after her daughter, Carly, was tragically murdered in 2007, after being groomed online by a 50-year-old predator. Today, she aims to equip children with the knowledge and tools they need to stay safe online.
“It’s a journey I never thought I’d be on, but in circumstances that were taken out of our control, I really tried to narrow down and really home in at what I could do to help prevent what happened to my daughter from happening to another innocent child in the future,” Ryan says.
She used this week’s discussions around greater online protections for young people to endorse ChildFund’s Swipe Safe app, a globally proven tool designed to help young people navigate the complexities of the online world safely.
ChildFund’s flagship Swipe Safe program and accompanying app has already been used by more than 38,000 children in more than eight countries globally, including Australia. The app consists of 12 units that have been developed in consultation with young people across the world, these units address critical topics, such as online grooming, cyberbullying, oversharing, offensive content and online gaming. Combined with training modules for parents, teachers and frontline workers, the app aims to provide a critical resource for children and families who want to have a better understanding of online dangers and, most importantly, how to respond to these risks.
To mark this week’s global day of action to raise awareness on online safety, ChildFund Australia is also launching the Swipe Safe App in Timor-Leste and Fiji in collaboration with national governments, young people and civil society organisations.
Urgent action needed to tackle global challenge
Faced with the enormous scale of global child protection challenges, Sonya Ryan spoke about the breadth of abusive behaviour that exists online, the global impact this has on children and the need for urgent action.
“Online abuse right now is like a global pandemic. Over 300 million children are victims of online sexual abuse and exploitation each year,” she says.
“This must stop and it needs to stop now.”
Putting practical tools to stay safe at families’ fingertips
Despite the current numbers of children impacted by online risks, Ryan says she is optimistic about the solutions and believes the Swipe Safe e-learning tool effectively engages children by teaching them about risks in the online world and also providing practical tools to stay safe and seek help when needed.
“Swipe Safe is a learning environment that helps children to learn self-protective behaviours, but not only are they able to learn how to navigate the online space safely but they can also seek help via the app if they need it and that is really important,” Ryan says.
“We have so many children disclose to us at the foundation about being inappropriately contacted online or they have a friend in a difficult situation that has been contacted and most of the time they really just don’t know what to do. One of the most important features of the app is really its ability to link young people to help and it also encourages peer support creating a network to manage online risks.”
Building a network of protection
ChildFund Chief Executive Officer Margaret Sheehan says she is determined to build a network of protection around children globally and also highlighted that online safety isn’t just about risk prevention – it’s about empowering children to participate fully and safely in the digital world.
“Digital environments are here to stay, and an important part of an exciting future for children – to learn, to play, to connect and to access information,” she says. “But their safety must be a shared responsibility. We need governments, tech companies, civil society, and families to work together to ensure digital spaces are designed with children’s best interests in mind.”
Sheehan commends the Australian Government’s progress on online safety, pointing to legislation passed in late 2024 to put in place a Children’s Privacy Code under the Privacy Act. However, as Australia heads to a federal election, she is urging both major parties to commit to even stronger action to bring Australia’s Online Safety Act up to international standards.
“Children should be able to learn, play, and connect online without being exposed to harmful and exploitative systems or bans that limit them from reaching their full potential,” says Sheehan.
“The Government’s progress on the Privacy Act and the Children’s Privacy Code is a welcome step, but stronger, evidence-based action is needed. Ahead of the election, all parties must commit to embedding a ‘duty of care’ in the Online Safety Act within the first year of government. This would bring Australia’s regulations in line with global standards by requiring digital platforms to not only identify the risks they create for children but also take meaningful, transparent action to address them—and face serious consequences if they fail to do so.
“The Swipe Safe app is a great tool that gives children the assets they need to interact with the digital world. At the same time, we must continue to work across borders so that all children can engage with technology in a safe, informed and empowered manner”.
Ryan agrees.
She says there are many reasons that children and teenagers who encounter an online risk don’t communicate it their parents.
“They might be embarrassed, they might be overwhelmed, they may be extorted and threatened. So, this app can really help to not only help young people to gain those protective behaviours, know what to do, know where to report, but it can also help parents and caregivers in the community to learn the best way to really support their young people and teach their young people to continue to communicate. Because if we have communication, we lower the risk of a young person you know becoming harmed.”
