Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are no stranger to online bullying. After all, it was the incessant negative publicity by the British press that the couple attributed as a major factor behind their breakup with the British royal family. Now, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are putting their experience to good use by launching an anti-bullying initiative called “The Parents Network”. Launched through their Archewell Foundation, the network provides support and resources to parents of bullying victims.
Sitting down with CBS Sunday Morning’s Jane Pauley, the celebrity royals, also parents of two, discussed how the Parents Network came to be.
“I think, one of the scariest things that we’ve learned over the course of the last 16, 17 years that social media’s been around, and more so recently, is the fact that (cyber bullying) could happen to absolutely anybody,” Harry said.
“We always talk about in the olden days if your kids were under your roof, you knew what they were up to; at least they were safe, right? And now, they could be in the next room on a tablet or on a phone and can be going down these rabbit holes. And before you know it, within 24 hours, they could be taking their life.”
Markle cited her own personal struggle with suicide ideation, something she candidly revealed during her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, as an motivation for the project.
“When you’ve been through any level of pain or trauma, I believe part of our healing journey—certainly part of mine—is being able to be really open about it,” Meghan said. “I do think that I would never want someone else to feel that way, and I would never want someone else to be making those sorts of plans, and I would never want someone else to not be believed.”
In its first foray, The Parents Network will be available for free in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada.