Sticks and Stones petition to be debated in Parliament

Our campaign to get all kids into lessons about online bullying launched in April last year

Author: Luke WilsonPublished 25th Jan 2018

After we launched our Sticks and Stones campaign last year to get online bullying lessons in schools, it's been announced Parliament will debate it.

It's after a petition calling for more action reached more than 220,000 signatures.

One of those signatures belongs to reality TV star Katie Price - she backed our Sticks and Stones campaign and told us last year that it's not a joke:

"There's nothing clever about it - if you actually think about what you're saying to this person, imagine if it was said about you.

"You may be in a group and think it's funny but I don't find anything funny about it - it's hurtful, why do you want to hurt someone?"

Well Chris Richardson received online abuse after having a heart transplant - he says Parliament doing something sends out a great message:

"It's brilliant, it's fantastic - making a law would be a brilliant idea and it'd be a fantastic way to tell the bullies you won't win."

The petition will be debated in a Petitions Committee hearing next month.

Chair of the Committee, Helen Jones MP said:

“Katie Price’s petition, which has been signed by more than 220,000 people, has brought to Parliament an issue that has not been widely discussed – how online abuse affects people with disabilities and their families.

"The Government and Parliament are looking at how to tackle online abuse, and we’d like to ensure that the particular issues faced by disabled people are at the heart of those discussions.

"We’ll be speaking to disabled people and other experts about what needs to change. We’ve also invited Katie Price and her son Harvey to Parliament to tell us about how online abuse has affected their family."