MEMBERS OF AN Garda Síochana spoke to a secondary school in Drimnagh this morning, launching a new lesson on educating students about Coco’s Law.

Students at Our Lady of Mercy Secondary School in Drimnagh were given a lesson today explaining specific offences around online activity and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images outlined in the legislation.

It comes as part of a new initiative from the Garda Schools Programme set to breakdown the contents of Coco’s Law in order to educate young people on cybersecurity.

The Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020 – which is referred to as ‘Coco’s Law’ in memory of cyberbullying victim Nicole ‘Coco’ Fox – criminalises the sharing or threatening to share intimate images without a person’s consent or with intent to cause a person harm.

The Garda Schools Programme, which began in 1991, was designed alongside the Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) syllabus of the Department of Education.

Over 400 charges have been made by Gardaí under Coco’s Law and over 1,800 harmful communication incidents have been recorded since 2023.

Under Coco’s Law, the nonconsensual distribution of intimate images with intent to cause harm carries up to 7 years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. Without intent to cause harm, the offence carries up to 12 months in prison and/or a fine of up to €5,000.

Nicole’s mother, Jackie Fox, said at the event that while her daughter’s legacy has been written into law, education is where its “true power” is.

Seeing the programme bring the lesson to schools might help spare families the heartbreak that Nicole’s family endured, Fox explained.

She added: “This is about teaching our children that their online actions have real-world weight”.

Minister for Education and Youth, Hildegarde Naughton said that online wellbeing and safety remains a “central priority” to the Department of Education and Youth.

The minister added that the programme informs students of the legal consequences of the sharing of non-consensual intimate images and also “empowers students to make respectful, informed choices and seek support when they need it”.

An Garda Síochana’s Assistant Commissioner Catherina Gunne said “we are beyond ‘internet safety’ as a concept and into the reality of legal responsibility”.