Gardaí launch Coco's law inspired school lesson

An Garda Síochána has launched a new school lesson on Coco’s Law aimed at protecting students from online harassment and intimate image abuse.

Developed with Webwise, the lesson will be delivered in secondary schools nationwide through the Garda Schools Programme, which supports the SPHE curriculum.

The initiative was launched in Dublin by Hildegarde Naughton, alongside Garda representatives and Jackie Fox, whose daughter Nicole “Coco” Fox inspired the legislation following her death in 2018.

New figures show more than 1,860 harmful communication incidents have been recorded since 2023, with over 400 charges initiated under the law.

The lesson aims to educate students on legal accountability online, focusing on threatening communications and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images. Gardaí said the programme is designed to empower young people to make safer, more informed decisions in the digital world.