Meghan Markle understands the struggles young women face, since she explained she is “one of the most bullied people in the world.” Larissa May, founder of the non-profit #HalfTheStory, welcomed Markle to talk to the young girls on Oct. 2.
Meghan Markle was able to relate to young girls while sharing her own experiences with online bullying.
On Oct. 2, Markle visited the nonprofit Girls Inc. in Santa Barbara, California to shed some light on how bullying is affecting the younger generation – specifically the girls.
Larissa May, founder of #HalfTheStory, was also in attendance and spoke to Vanity Fair about Markle’s comments during her visit with the teenage girls.
“We did an activity where we talked through a bunch of scenarios, and Meghan talked about being one of the most bullied people in the world,” May told the outlet.
She continued, “We had girls wave these little emoji signs and talk about how each one of these scenarios would have impacted them emotionally.”
On Oct. 11, International Day of the Girl, it was announced that Markle’s Archewell Foundation joined forces with Girls Inc., Melinda French Gates’ company Pivotal Ventures and Oprah Winfrey’s Charitable Foundation to create a program focused on anti-bullying on social media.
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The program is called Social Media U. According to a statement from the Archewell Foundation, it is an educational initiative that will “equip girls with the essential tools to thrive in the digital age while fostering healthier, more balanced relationships with technology.”
Middle-school aged girls were able to test the program’s initiative with the help of the Duchess of Sussex, May told Vanity Fair.
“We really wanted to make sure that the teens at #HalfTheStory were able to give their input on the type of experience that we would create,” she said. “Ultimately, we thought the best way to do that was to create a space of vulnerability.”
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She added, “With Stephanie and Meghan, we talked about what it really means to grow up in this digital age.”
This is not the first time Markle has opened up about her experience with online bullying.
“When you’ve been through any level of pain or trauma, I believe part of our healing journey — certainly part of mine — is being able to be really open about it,” she told CBS Sunday Morning in August.
Markle continued at the time, “I really scraped the surface on my experience, but I do think that I would never want someone else to feel that way and I would never want someone else to be making those sort of plans and I would never want someone else to not be believed.”
