Dame Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner for England

I am very glad to be taking part in Safer Internet Day 2022 as Children’s Commissioner for England. I know from over half-a-million responses to The Big Ask survey that healthy relationships, both online and offline, are a crucial feature of happy childhoods. It is clear that negative interactions online, including bullying and harassment, can have profound impacts on children’s lives and wellbeing.

Following the Everyone’s Invited campaign, I was commissioned by Government to advise on reducing children’s access to harmful online content. As part of this work, I have looked at the impact the online world can have on children and published a guide to equip parents with the tools to navigate conversations around respectful digital relationships. This has been a core focus of mine and I am very pleased to support the UK Safer Internet Centre’s important work.