Yasmin London was a NSW police officer for 13 years before entering the tech industry. Now she’s bringing these experiences together to help create a safer online world for kids.
“I worked with a lot with young people throughout that time and had quite a few experiences that weren’t so great for young people who were struggling with the online world,” London told Women’s Agenda.
But there was one experience in particular that she still thinks about to this day. She was negotiating with a teenage girl, who was face to face with all the negative side effects of the online world.
“And that moment, I think the real understanding of the physical world consequences that happen when kids are having a hard time online – it’s just never left me,” she says.
But London is determined to change that. She turned her small business for teaching children and families about online safety into something far greater than what she ever anticipated.
London is now the Global Director of Digital Resilience at Qoria, a global digital technology company helping to keep young people safe in the digital world.
“We are already in a digital-first world, and it’s only going to become more, more and more digital,” London says.
“I want kids to feel empowered. I want to positively impact their mental health, their self-esteem. All of those sorts of things can be severely impacted if they don’t know how to handle themselves online.”
From small to big business
It began as a community effort for London. As a police officer, time after time she dealt with incidents between young people engaging in the online world.
So as a side business, she began teaching in schools in the eastern suburbs of Sydney about online safety, and how young people can better equip themselves to live their best, safest digital lives – and protect one another.
“We provide technology that helps safeguard them, things like parental control tools and filtering systems,” London says.
It wasn’t long before London was contacted by a psychologist in Perth, who was doing a similar thing on the west coast of Australia. The pair then launched their online safety business, ySafe, in 2013.
As their business grew, ySafe was working in about 700 schools across Australia, focusing on social and emotional elements of the online world, and teaching kids to become more knowledgeable and ethical digital citizens.
In fact, ySafe was so successful it was picked up by Qoria. Suddenly, London’s business was the educational branch of a global tech company that now reaches 27,000 schools across three continents, keeping 23 million children safe around the world.
So, why does she do it? After her 13-year career as a police officer, London learned she wanted to make an impact on young people and how they navigate themselves online.
It’s even more important for her now, as a mother of two young girls.
“I have a ten year old and a seven year old. And I think after that conversation with that teenage girl – I didn’t have kids at the time, but it just hit home,” London says. “What would have happened had that gone wrong to the families?”
According to a study from the eSafety commission, 21 per cent of young people aged 8-17 reported experiencing social exclusion online, and a further 21 per cent reported they had received threats and abuse online. A third (33 per cent) of young people said they had experienced unwanted contact or content online, and 36 per cent said they did not feel good about themselves when they were engaging in the online world.
But London believes there is more to the digital world than its negative impacts – and she’s determined to bring these to light.
“I think in the end my number one motivator is creating a safe and healthy world for my girls to thrive in, and so that’s what keeps me pushing along,” London says.
A social media ban?
A recurring topic for debate in Australia, many people want to see a ban on social media for young people, or at least for the age restriction to be lifted to up to 16 years old.
London, however, believes a ban is not the way to go about it.
“That’s the first thing that people want to do,” London says. “They want to ban it.
She believes we should instead be helping young people build capabilities to navigate the online world safely.
“Because, number one: kids will always find a way around it, and number two: when they do have something that goes wrong, they’re not going to feel confident coming forward.
“And that’s when the really bad stuff happens.”
London says, instead of a ban, we need to build “digital resilience” – something she works thoroughly on in her role at Qoria.
“Ultimately, our end game needs to be building their resilience and their skill set to that when they become an adult and they go out into the big wide world, they have the capabilities to do what they need to do.
“Everybody wants a quick fix, but the quick fix doesn’t really exist.”
The power of relentless curiosity
London never thought “in a million years” she would be where she is now: the Global Director for Digital Resilience at Qoria.
What got her there was her “relentless curiosity” – to take a chance and start her small business that turned into a global impact story.
“I think being a lifelong learner, you know, you tend to learn about areas that you wouldn’t, that you wouldn’t have otherwise,” London says.
“I definitely didn’t consider myself a techie person, but one thing that I’ve learned is that, you know, becoming the best version of yourself requires constant editing. And when it comes to success, the road isn’t always linear.
“But the more that you say yes, the more exciting that road can become, and that’s where life really unfolds in front of your eyes.”
Thanks to our partner CommBank. CommBank supports women in business and the community across all industries and sectors through its Women in Focus team. For more information head to WomeninFocus.com.au.