Charity aims to put an end to online abuse
DETERMINED mum Charlene Beswick has launched a charity to raise awareness about facial disfigurements – and has hit back at the cruel online trolls who taunted her son.
Schoolboy Harry has Goldenhar syndrome – a rare condition that means he was born without a left nostril, eye socket and left ear.
In the past, there have been cruel comments from social media users about the 12-year-old, while Charlene, of Biddulph, says children will often point and stare at him.
Now Charlene has unveiled More Than A Face – a charity aimed at educating and inspiring people who may never have met someone with a facial disfigurement before and to help them realise the consequences of their remarks.
The project will also involve going into schools to deliver talks and workshops with primary pupils. At secondary level, a special assembly will be delivered.
She said: “I am trying to educate young people about differences and to understand that what they say can really have an impact.
“I show the high school students the abuse that I have received online to make the point to them that it is never acceptable to treat people like that and that there is always someone at the end of the abuse.”
Last year Charlene found herself at the centre of an internet storm after a photo of Harry, who has a twin, Oliver, was removed from Instagram. The image – which the social media platform later restored – showed the youngster without the prosthetic eye he normally wears and was accompanied by a light-hearted caption.
But the family has also been the subject of vile abuse from users on social media over the way Harry, who was born premature at 32 weeks, looks. Charlene hopes the charity, and its website, can go someway to change how people interact with social media and help others who have faced torment online.
Charlene, who has written a book about Harry called ‘Our Altered Life,’ added: “I am empowering people to validate themselves and not find validation from what people online think.
“There is a self-confidence issue with social media when everyone is using Snapchat and Instagram filters.
“They should not be judging each other and should be able to love themselves.
“Getting the website and being registered as a charity will hopefully enable me to do even more. It is my aim to visit every high school in North Staffordshire and South Cheshire and share my message. Hopefully, they will take that message and share it with their parents and others.”