Latest news with #ISPCC
Extra.ie
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
From Burnout to Ballads - Lets delve into Lewis Capaldi's triumphant 2025 comeback
After nearly two years away from the spotlight, Lewis Capaldi is officially stepping back into the music world. His final public appearance was at Glastonbury 2023, where he visibly struggled to finish his set and his fans famously sang the lyrics for him when he couldn't. Following the heartbreaking performance, the star confirmed that he would be taking some time away from the spotlight, even pulling out of Electric Picnic that same year. After nearly two years away from the spotlight, Lewis Capaldi is officially stepping back into the music world. Pic: Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock His return is not just a musical moment, but an emotional one, marking the end of a deeply personal chapter in the Scottish singer-songwriter's life. Now, to fully understand the weight of his comeback, we need to revisit why he stepped away in the first place. At the time, Capaldi stunned fans when he announced he would be cancelling upcoming tour dates, citing the toll that fame, relentless touring, and his struggles with Tourette's syndrome and anxiety had taken on his mental health. His final public appearance was at Glastonbury 2023, where he visibly struggled to finish his set and his fans famously sang the lyrics for him when he couldn't. Pic:Capaldi had always been honest about the pressure he felt to deliver, especially after the runaway success of his debut album Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent, alas his candor didn't make the weight any easier to carry. Taking to X at the time, Lewis extended his thanks to Glastonbury organisers as well as his audience 'for singing along when I needed it.' Writing that 'this probably won't come as a surprise', Lewis announced he would be taking a break from touring. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lewis Capaldi (@lewiscapaldi) 'I used to be able to enjoy every second of shows like this and I'd hoped 3 weeks away would sort me out,' he explained. 'But the truth is I'm still learning to adjust to the impact of my Tourette's and on Saturday it became obvious that I need to spend much more time getting my mental and physical health in order, so I can keep doing everything I love for a long time to come.' The star acknowledged being 'fortunate' to take leave, and thanked his family and friends as well as the medical professionals who have helped him along the way. Following the heartbreaking performance, the star confirmed that he would be taking some time away from the spotlight, even pulling out of Electric Picnic that same year. Pic:'I'm so incredibly sorry to everyone who had planned to come to a show before the end of the year but I need to feel well to perform at the standard you all deserved,' he apologised. 'Playing for you every night is all I've every dreamed of so this has been the most difficult decision of my life. I'll be back as soon as I possible can.' Earlier that same month Lewis donated £50,000 (€58,000) to the ISPCC (Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children after a statement confirmed the singer would not be able to attend FM104's The Gig at the Olympia Theatre 'due to illness.' Now, the beloved star has shocked fans by returning with new music which reflects on this time of his life. Lewis dropped his new track, Survive, early on Friday morning, leaving his dedicated fans delighted. 'Most nights I fear that I'm not enough, I've had my share of Monday mornings when I can't get up,' he sings in the candid and vulnerable track. However, the track does have its lighter moments, proving Capaldi truly can weather any storm; 'I swear to God I'll survive, if it kills me to, I'm gonna' get up and try, if it's the last thing I'll do.' Delighted to have you back Lewis!
RTÉ News
06-06-2025
- Health
- RTÉ News
ISPCC joins worldwide project to tackle online child sexual abuse
The ISPCC has announced its participation in a global project to prevent and respond to online child sexual exploitation and abuse. Safe Online, a global fund dedicated to eradicating online child sexual exploitation and abuse, is funding the project called "Sandboxing and Standardising Child Online Redress". The initiative is being spearheaded by Greek non-profit child welfare organisation The Smile of the Child, and will be co-created by children and young people to ensure their voices are heard. The sandbox project will establish a first-of-its-kind mechanism to advance child online safety through collaboration across sectors, borders and generations. Sandboxes bring together industry, regulators and customers in a safe space to test innovative products and services without incurring regulatory sanctions. Through the participation of youth, platforms, regulators and online safety experts, this first regulatory sandbox for child digital wellbeing will provide for consistent, systemic care and redress for children from online harm. "This project is a wonderful example of what we can achieve when we collaborate and listen to children and young people," said ISPCC Head of Policy and Public Affairs Fiona Jennings. "Having robust online reporting mechanisms in place is a key policy objective for ISPCC and this project will go a long way towards making the online world safer for children and young people to participate in," Ms Jennings said. The project is led by The Smile of the Child, Greece's premier child welfare organisation and ISPCC is a partner alongside The Young and Resilient Research Centre at Western Sydney University, Child Helpline International and the Centre for Digital Policy at University College Dublin.
RTÉ News
19-05-2025
- Health
- RTÉ News
Toolkit launched to protect child influencers
A new digital safeguarding toolkit has been launched to protect child influencers, also known as 'kidfluencers'. These are children that post content online via social media accounts that may generate economic gain in the form of monetary payments or goods. It often occurs through sponsorships, product placements or paid adverts, where the parents are approached by a brand or agency to promote a product or experience. The 'Kids as Content' Digital Safeguarding Toolkit is designed to protect children in the digital space. It is a guide for parents, industry professionals, and policymakers focussing on considerations such as child labour risks when it comes to payments. The toolkit also examines health and safety concerns, as well as risks linked to family, identity, education and dignity. It is based on the research of Dr Francis Rees, Co-ordinator for the Child Influencer Project and a Lecturer in Law at the University of Essex. "The project has identified basic workplace risks such as children not having the same entitlements to access their money," Dr Rees said. "They also wouldn't go through the normal health and safety assessments or know their working hours." "It is about getting parents to take a beat and think about what they are posting, how they are framing the child, and also to think about their own bargaining positions with brands and agencies who should be paying them properly for this work," she added. The toolkit was launched today at the Office of the Ombudsman for Children. The Ombudsman, Dr Niall Muldoon, believes new laws may be needed to protect child influencers. "If they were child actors, there would be all sorts of regulations, we have advertising standards when it comes to health and safety, remuneration, hours of work and education to make sure the child is protected at all times," Dr Muldoon said. "That's not in this sphere and we need to start upping our game and looking at the legislation around that," he added. There are also concerns about the negative comments, exposure to harmful content and unwanted followers that can come with being a child influencer. Fiona Jennings, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at the ISPCC said laws are being developed in other countries to protect child influencers. "We need to close a legislative gap that is there at the moment," Ms Jennings said. "Invariably this type of work happens within the home space and it can be difficult for a child to understand what is family life when it drifts into child influencing," she added.
Irish Examiner
09-05-2025
- Irish Examiner
Computer game to spot the signs of online grooming to be rolled out in schools next term
A new computer game designed to spot the key signs of online grooming is being developed for roll-out for in-class teaching. The game is being designed under the Grosafe project in a partnership between the ISPCC and TU (Technological University) Dublin, funded by Research Ireland. It has been trialed in a small number of schools and the current phase of development is set to be completed by September. Fiona Jennings, ISPCC Head of Policy and Public Affairs, said the project is specially focused on 'how children and young people are groomed into criminality or for sexual exploitation purposes'. She explained: 'At the moment, by the end of this phase which will be around September, we are hoping that we will have further enhancements done to the digital game which we are trying to align with the SPHE outcomes as well for post primary schools.' She said the game will be made available free to schools, enabling teachers to use it in their SPHE classes. Ms Jennings said: 'We have been part of this research project since June 2023 and what we are trying to develop out of that is an in-classroom digital game through which children and young people will be offered education in terms of how to spot red flags for grooming. 'We have done brilliant school trials and co-created it with children and young people and they have been really receptive to that in terms of sharing their thoughts and ideas with us of how to create it.' She said the game will feature a reporting and chatbot function. She added: 'We are also developing a knowledge management system which I think will be really, really crucial. "What we have found from our stake holder engagement - we interviewed people on the frontline, frontline practitioners, State organisations, academics – is that one of the recurring things that kept coming up was how people struggle to identify what grooming behaviour looks like and if they do identify it, they don't know what to do with that. "So the knowledge management system would allow for practitioners to be able to log or upload some examples to help build a national picture as to what grooming in Ireland is like.' She pointed to the DRIVE project set up through the drugs taskforces and the Health Research Board around the issue of drug-related intimidation. Ms Jennings said: 'Drug-related intimidation is also difficult to spot. It can often be the starting point for more harmful things downstream, just like grooming for sexual exploitation which can be the starting point for much worse harm later on. "Often you'll hear from the testimony of children and young people who have been groomed that they were not able to recognise the signs. When we hear those stories, there are so many missed opportunities along the way for intervention.' She said that education is an important tool in helping children and young people stay protected from grooming, adding: 'Children learn well through gaming, including really complex ideas. For years, our Stay Safe programmes in schools have all been about stranger danger whereas we know now that children and young people are more than likely to be abused by someone they know within their own community.'
Irish Examiner
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
ISPCC calls for national strategy to fight child sex abuse and exploitation
The ISPCC is calling on the government to develop a national strategy for child sexual abuse, child sexual exploitation and online risks to child safety, following a 'seminal' week in relation to child safety. The organisation's head of policy and public affairs, Fiona Jennings, said the One in Four report launched last Thursday, the PrimeTime investigation into the Christian Brothers aired on Thursday night and the recent publication of the Grace report highlight the need for such a strategy, as recommended in a report from the Garda Siochana Inspectorate in 2017. The Irish Attitudes to Tackling Child Sexual Abuse launched by One in Four on Thursday found that 40% of people know someone who was sexually abused as a child, while more than 90% of respondents believe society had failed to address child sexual abuse. 'Is this the moment that we will finally see this acted upon? This research (in the One in Four report) speaks to the need for a whole-of-society approach, it speaks to the need for one for not just child sexual exploitation offline but it also speaks to the online element as well. "Eight years later, we still don't have this recommendation in place, and we don't have to stray too far just to see how vulnerable victims and survivors of child sexual abuse have been treated,' said Ms Jennings. She said a national strategy would bring together all the different agencies and individuals who have expertise in different areas relating to child sexual abuse. She also said there is a need for an audit of Ireland's laws and guidelines in the area to 'ensure that our laws and policies are fit for purpose'. She added: 'I firmly believe that child sexual abuse is the last taboo that Ireland needs to tackle in a meaningful way. We have tackled divorce, we have tackled marriage equality, we have tackled reproductive rights. Now is the time that we need to tackle child sexual abuse. "If Thursday's report was not that seminal turning point, then I really worry as to what we actually do need.' The One in Four report was published on the same day as the PrimeTime documentary on the Christian Brothers, which revealed that two members who were senior leaders of the order over the space of two decades and managed the congregation's assets are now convicted child sexual abusers. Last Tuesday, the general solicitor for minors and wards of court, Marie-Claire Butler, claimed none of the "extensive" submissions made on behalf of the woman known as Grace were included "in any way" in the final report of the Farrelly Commission. The commission was tasked with examining allegations of abuse and severe neglect while she was in a foster home in the southeast over a 20-year period. While it found that Grace, who is now in her 40s and who is severely intellectually disabled, had been neglected and there was a lack of oversight for her care, the commission was not satisfied the evidence established she had been subjected to physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. Citing the One in Four report, the Christian Brothers documentary and the Grace report, Ms Jennings said: 'What do we actually need to do in order to get our policy makers to act?' The ISPCC will now be contacting the government to seek the implementation of such a strategy." She added: 'It is something that should be coordinated from the Department of the Taoiseach.'
