Coco’s Law: All that every parent needs to know as mum hails ‘brilliant’ online bullying legislation | #childpredator | #kidsaftey | #childsaftey

Need to know

A new lesson on Coco’s law has been launched as part of the Garda Schools Programme

A mum who has tirelessly campaigned for online bullying laws after the tragic death of her daughter said it’s “absolutely brilliant” that teenagers will now learn about new legislation in school by gardaí.

Here’s everything every parent in the country needs to know.

1. On Friday morning An Garda Síochána launched its new lesson on Coco’s law as part of the Garda Schools Programme. The initiative has facilitated lessons for schools across the country since 1991, covering topics such as substance use, personal safety and cyber safety alongside the Social, Personal & Health Education (SPHE) curriculum.
2. Now, teenagers will learn about the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020, which criminalised sending grossly offensive messages and made it illegal to share intimate images of others without their consent. Also known as Coco’s law, the legislation passed after Jackie Fox campaigned tirelessly following the tragic passing of her 21-year-old daughter Nicole ‘Coco’ Fox.
3. The young woman sadly died by suicide in 2018 after facing years of physical abuse and severe online bullying. Since 2023, gardaí have recorded over 1,860 harmful communication incidents, and initiated over 400 charges and summons for offences.
4. At the launch of the new lesson at Our Lady of Mercy Secondary School Drimnagh, Dublin, Ms Fox told students about her bubbly, funny daughter whose life was taken by bullies. The mother commonly gives talks to schools and clubs across the country sharing her daughter’s story but said it’s vital that teenagers will now learn from gardaí about the legislation and the harm caused by sending abusive messages or sharing intimate images.
5. She told the Irish Mirror: “I think the Coco’s law programme is absolutely fantastic, every bit helps. You’re never going to get rid of online bullying but we’re here to help and to educate. And to educate people at a younger age would be the hope so that by the time they get into secondary school or even older, that they have learned Coco’s law and they know the damage, and letting them see the damage and that bullying or sharing intimate images can kill.”
6. The mother told students that her daughter was physically and mentally abused, her “friends” burned her with cigarettes, pushed her into the corner of a table, dislocating her hip and dragged her down a flight of stairs. Nicole also faced relentless online abuse, receiving messages telling her to take her own life.
7. Students and teachers in the room were visibly moved by the young girl’s story, as Ms Fox finished: “People often say to me since the law was passed that I must be so proud of myself, I struggle with that because I shouldn’t have had to bring it along. “A law should have been in years ago, and maybe if it was in when Coco was struggling, maybe she would be still here. I struggle with the word pride, but what makes me proud is every single person in this room, every one of you knows who my little girl is.”
8. Speaking at the launch, Education Minister Hildegarde Naughton paid tribute to the late Nicole, saying: “I also want to pay tribute to Coco, whose experience has had a profound and lasting impact on this work. “Both she, and her family, have helped shape a stronger, more informed response, and continue to guide how we educate and protect young people in this area.”

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