- Families and Survivors to Prevent Online Suicide Harms launches calling for Ofcom to expedite investigation into suicide forum
- Campaigners want stronger laws to ensure sites which exist to encourage others to die by suicide cannot continue to be active in the UK
Bereaved families impacted by an online suicide forum are calling for Ofcom to ensure the site is permanently removed from the UK.
The forum which promotes a poison linked to at least 99 deaths in the UK is under investigation by the online regulator, leading the site to voluntarily remove itself from the country.
But campaigners are warning the site could return unless strong action is taken under the Online Safety Act to legally shut the forum down.
Families and Survivors to Prevent Online Suicide Harms launched this week, coinciding with a Channel 4 documentary, Poisoned: Killer in the Post, which investigates the role the suicide forum played in connecting vulnerable people to the lethal poison.
The group was convened by Molly Rose Foundation and is calling on Ofcom to speed up their investigation into the site and act quickly to ensure it is permanently blocked in the UK.
They are also calling for stronger legislation to prevent similar sites from popping up and for reclassification of the poison to make it more difficult to acquire.
Members include David Parfett whose son Tom’s death led to the investigation into Kenneth Law which is the subject of Channel 4’s Poisoned: Killer in the Post.
All the group members have lost young loved ones to the site or have been impacted personally by the harm it causes.
The forum in question grooms vulnerable people into ending their lives with members offering tips and instructions in how to die by suicide.
It is being investigated under the Online Safety Act but campaigners say the legislation is working too slowly towards closing the site and won’t prevent similar sites being launched.
They also want stronger accountability across Government to deal with the threat posed by suicide forums and a better frontline response to protect those at risk.
A statement from Families and Survivors to Prevent Online Suicide Harms, said: “We know first-hand the fatal harm caused by this suicide forum which actively encourages vulnerable people to end their lives.
“We’ve come together to demand change and compel tech companies, regulators and Governments work together to prevent further tragedies.
“This must start with Ofcom legally closing down the site so it can never return to the UK and prey on more vulnerable young people.”
Andy Burrows, Chief Executive of Molly Rose Foundation, said: “It is criminal that this horrendous site exists to groom young people into suicide and Ofcom should act quickly and decisively to legally close it down.
“But just closing the site won’t be the end of the story which has seen 99 deaths in the UK linked to the poison promoted by the site.
“We need tougher legislation to stop a whack-a-mole of similar site popping up, better regulation of the lethal poison and Government action to protect people from these horrific and growing online threats.”
If you’re struggling just text MRF to 85258 so you can speak to a trained volunteer from Shout, the UK’s Crisis Text Line service.
