Restricted Growth Association

The RGA Committee are fully aware that, despite the work that has been done to remove offensive (and in some cases illegal) groups from Facebook which attack and intimidate people with restricted growth, many groups still exist and more are appearing daily. In theory, as these groups also break Facebook’s own terms it should be possible to just click on the ‘Report’ link on each group and they will be removed. Many members will know from experience that this does not work.

As a Committee, we understand that people have freedom of speech and that sometimes people genuinely do not understand the offence they can cause. In these cases, we have had some success in contacting the ‘Creators’ direct, and they have obliged in removing the groups.

The issue we have as a Committee is the lack of action taken by Facebook over the groups that are being formed daily and those groups that attack and intimidate people with restricted growth. There are too many for us to deal with as an association alone. As an organisation we can make a difference so that new parents and children do not stumble across these sites. The MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham (Daniel Kawczynski) has been approached by Steph Birch and is currently lobbying the Home Office and Harriet Harman to persuade Facebook to police the groups held on their site fully and respond to reports of offensive / hate crime groups in a timely manner. This issue does not just affect the restricted growth community, other disabilities are also being attacked.

As an association member you can support this action. We are posting a draft letter on our website that you can send to your MP asking them to support Daniel Kawczynski in his actions and the parliamentary debate he’s requested. It doesn’t matter which political party your MP represents – as long as they are your MP.

We hope you feel able to help here – please download the letter below, add your details and post it to your MP. Every bit of support will help.
 

Click here to download the Letter to your MP about Facebook