Dear standing committee members, thank you for this invitation to speak in front of your committee and provide thoughts contributing to the focus of mental health issues experienced by young women and girls, with attention to online harms and how these can greatly impact the self-esteem of this population.
My name is Carol Todd. I am the founder of the Amanda Todd Legacy Society. I am also an educator in British Columbia, but I am known more widely as the mother of Amanda Todd.
Amanda was a victim of negative online behaviours focused on her that affected her overall mental health and well-being. Her story has become prominent worldwide in the battle against cyber-bullying, sextortion and online exploitation.
The world of technology has continued to evolve at lightning speed over the past 30 years. Back then, one of the main uses of technology was for email communication. Technology devices and the Internet have created vast and varied behaviours online. There is, of course, the good, and then there is the darker side, where things are seen and heard that affect how we may feel about ourselves and/or others. In this 21st century, the Internet has allowed us to share stories, images, videos plus more in an often unglamourous and targeted way. My daughter was a victim of this technology uprising.
Amanda was born on November 27, 1996. She was just 15 years old when she took her life by suicide on October 10, 2012. In a week, it will have been 10 years since her death. As her mother, I will always carry the heartache of losing my daughter in this world where online harm and behaviours are preventable.
Amanda experienced cyber-abusive behaviours from her peers, online shaming, victimization and cyber-attacking. Amanda experienced being part of the perfect world syndrome on the Internet. Amanda was exploited online by an international predator who was extradited to Canada and was convicted in the B.C. Supreme Court on August 6, 2022 on charges of criminal harassment, luring, extortion and two counts of child pornography. Sentencing of this predator, Mr. Aydin Coban, is to occur the week of October 11, 2022, which is the day after the 10th anniversary of Amanda's death.
Amanda's life from ages 12 to 15 encompassed cyber-bullying, online exploitation, now known as sextortion, and mental illness. Young persons feel their lifeline is attached to today's world of technology. Much like oxygen, without it, they don't believe they can exist.
When Amanda was a young teen, our knowledge of what existed on the Internet was not as widespread as it is now. Amanda and her friends ended up sharing personal information with strangers and learned first-hand about the dark side of the Internet, which is a predator's playground where strangers can prey on kids in chat rooms and social media sites. This left Amanda shocked and feeling bad about her situation, instilling fear in her and our family. Her peers taunted and ridiculed her face to face and online, to the point where Amanda was afraid to leave the house. Amanda then turned to the Internet to find strength but was met with more abusive harm.
When Amanda was offline, the abusive words towards my daughter continued to swirl around social media. Not knowing what was being said and by whom added to the problems of not being able to provide support to help deal with situations. These were also young people whom Amanda at times considered friends. My once spirited and adventurous child became more reclusive and sad and felt alone, saying to me that she didn't know whom to trust anymore.
In today's world, young girls and women—also young boys and men—are dealing with a lot more than we did 30 years ago in terms of sexualized behaviours and easy access to sharing personal and intimate information over the Internet. This oversharing has created the situations we are discussing today. We have come to realize that what happened to Amanda can happen to anyone.
As Amanda said, in her words, “Everyone has a story.” When those stories come out and they belong to your child, your relatives and your grandchildren, it sometimes means more. No one is immune to becoming a statistic.
In conclusion, I want to thank you for the time and effort you have put into creating a space to address the harms that young women and girls face in their lives. Speaking for many Canadians who care about our country, we applaud and thank the Canadian government for putting the emotional wellness of young girls and women at the forefront of conversation. It is hoped that more resources and strategies can be put in place to address the situations we are being faced with.
Communities worldwide need to continue to work together in supporting the work that has been done to promote increased awareness and education surrounding mental wellness and online safety.
I am grateful to be able to use my voice to share Amanda’s story and this life experience to assist with any changes that may be brought forth. The voices of so many continue to remain silent, either out of fear or because they can no longer speak to be heard. It is through me and the legacy that Amanda has left behind that we can continue to make these silent voices heard.
We must work together to create a safer space for Canadians to live in.
Thank you for the time and for listening to me.