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Meghan Markle candidly spoke to teenagers about her experiences with being bullied online at a recent event.
On October 2, the Duchess of Sussex, 43, visited the Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara, which is the “preeminent girls’ leadership organization equipping girls to reach their full potential,” according to the company’s official website. Her appearance came to help the organization with a digital wellness program, Social Media U, which has received financial support from Meghan and Prince Harry’s Archwell Foundation.
During an interview with Vanity Fair, Larissa May, the co-founder of #HalfTheStory – an advocacy group that’s working with Girl Inc. – shared how Meghan spoke to children about her personal experiences with online bullying.
“We did an activity where we talked through a bunch of scenarios, and Meghan talked about being one of the most bullied people in the world,” May said. “We had girls wave these little emoji signs and talk about how each one of these scenarios would have impacted them emotionally.”
“We really wanted to make sure that the teens at #HalfTheStory were able to give their input on the type of experience that we would create. Ultimately, we thought the best way to do that was to create a space of vulnerability,” she added. “With Stephanie [the CEO of Girls Inc. and Meghan, we talked about what it really means to grow up in this digital age.”
Meghan’s visit to Girls Inc. came months after she and Harry launched The Parents Network, which supports parents whose children have suffered or died due to online harms. The foundation has also partnered with the World Health Organization and others to end violence against children, an issue Harry and Meghan outlined during a recent trip to Colombia.
During an appearance on CBS Mornings last month, the pair first spoke out about their campaign, revealing they want it to bring awareness to the dangers of online bullying since they themselves are the parents of two young children, Archie and Lilibet.
“Our kids are young; they’re three and five. They’re amazing. But all you want to do as parents is protect them,” Meghan said. “And so, as we can see what’s happening in the online space, we know that there’s a lot of work to be done there, and we’re just happy to be able to be a part of change for good.”
During a keynote panel at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in March, on International Women’s Day, Meghan highlighted the detrimental effects of social media, specifically being bullied online, and how they impacted her.
“Even if it’s making dollars, it doesn’t make sense,” the Suits alum said. “The toxicity that comes at you, yes, social media is an environment that has a lot of that. I keep my distance from it.”
Markle added that while pregnant with her children she found herself baffled by how “catty and cruel” people were online.
“But we also created these habits – what I find to be the most distributing is how much of the hate are women spewing that to other women,” she added. “I can’t make sense of that.”
“Reading something terrible about a woman, why are you sharing it with your friends?” she asked. “That’s the piece that’s so lost right now. We’ve forgotten about our humanity.”
