About Advocacy

At Away From Keyboard Inc., advocacy is not just about raising awareness — it is about amplifying the voices of those in distress, and ensuring that systems, technologies, and policies are designed with the safety and wellbeing of vulnerable people at their core.

Our advocacy complements our direct relief work by:

We advocate for technology that recognises the emotional, cognitive, and psychological needs of children, victims of abuse, and neurodivergent users. We engage with policy makers, education departments, and digital platforms to promote ethical AI, child-safe design, and protective online environments.

We work to ensure that victims of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) — including those impacted by coercive control, image-based abuse, and AI-generated exploitation — are recognised, protected, and supported. Our advocacy includes promoting justice pathways, improved reporting mechanisms, and trauma-informed legal responses.

Our Founder and President, Sarah Barnbrook, leads our advocacy with deep lived experience and professional expertise. She has spoken internationally at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), delivering sessions such as Unsafe by Design and Agents for Change, focused on AI harm, child safety, and inclusion. Sarah is also a registered member of the Blue Knot Foundation, ensuring our advocacy remains trauma-informed.

Our advocacy brings visibility to:

• Children in digital distress
   
• Carers of neurodivergent children
   
• LGBTQI+ youth facing online discrimination
   
• Families in regional and rural Australia with limited access to support
   

We ensure their needs are heard in national and global discussions — not as data points, but as people who deserve care, justice, and protection.

While advocacy is not our primary purpose, it plays a vital role in achieving long-term relief by influencing the systems that contribute to digital distress. We use our voice to drive change — always grounded in compassion, ethics, and the lived experiences of those we serve.

As the Founder and President of Away From Keyboard Inc. and an accredited delegate to the 69th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), I have had the privilege of representing vulnerable communities on the world stage in 2025. Through a series of international engagements, I have advocated for the ethical and inclusive development of technology — with a specific focus on artificial intelligence (AI), safety-by-design, and the protection of children and neurodivergent individuals from digital harm.

In March 2025, I served as a delegate to CSW69, where I facilitated two global sessions:

• Unsafe by Design: The Unseen Risks of AI for the Girl Child, which highlighted how gender bias, exploitation, and digital trauma are often embedded into AI systems.
   
• Agents for Change, a session focused on grassroots and civil society mobilisation to shape safer, inclusive digital futures.
   

In October 2024, I met with representatives from the:

• World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva
   
• United Nations Human Rights Commission
   
• International Labour Organization (ILO)
   

These discussions centred on the intersection of innovation, policy, and human rights in the age of AI.

At these meetings, I raised four critical pillars of ethical tech design:

I advocated for AI systems to be explainable, auditable, and accountable to end users. These safeguards help build public trust and mitigate the invisible harms caused by unregulated or biased technologies.

I argued that safety must be embedded from the start — not treated as a secondary patch. This includes addressing exploitation risks, algorithmic bias, and harmful content exposure before deployment.

I highlighted the urgent need to protect children, neurodivergent users, and marginalised communities, who are disproportionately affected by unsafe online environments and manipulative digital tools.

I called for harmonised international frameworks to ensure that AI governance is not left behind by technological speed. Stronger safeguards across borders will help create consistency and accountability across platforms.

As part of my submission to WIPO, I also advocated for the mandatory disclosure of AI usage in commercial content, particularly in creative industries and media. This aligns with the safety principles I champion at both state and international levels, ensuring consumers are protected and creators are treated ethically.

As part of my ongoing commitment to ethical technology and digital justice, I have formally signed the United Nations Global Digital Compact — a multilateral effort to shape a safe, inclusive, and rights-based digital future.

The Compact outlines shared principles for how technology should be developed, governed, and used — especially in relation to human rights, trust and safety, inclusion, and sustainability. It recognises that digital spaces are not neutral — and that vulnerable populations are often disproportionately harmed when safety and ethics are not embedded into design.

By signing this Compact, I publicly affirm my commitment, both personally and through Away From Keyboard Inc., to:

Ensure that digital environments respect and protect the rights of children, neurodivergent individuals, and marginalised communities, including their rights to privacy, dignity, safety, and expression.

Champion technologies that are built with trauma-informed, inclusive, and protective principles from the ground up — not bolted on as an afterthought.

Support policies and platforms that demand transparency, explainability, and accountability in algorithmic systems — particularly those impacting minors or people experiencing distress.

Work to ensure that families in regional and under-resourced areas are not left behind — and that carers and children have equal access to safe and supportive digital tools.

Contribute to a unified, cross-border approach to digital governance that reflects the realities of the people most affected by unsafe technology.

Sarah Barnbrook is a dedicated advocate committed to relieving digital distress and enhancing the lives of women, children, and carers through trauma-informed leadership, policy advocacy, and global collaboration. Her work spans direct support programs, educational outreach, and international representation — all grounded in a mission to reduce emotional harm and social exclusion caused by unsafe digital environments.

As the Founder and President of Away From Keyboard Inc., Sarah leads a Public Benevolent Institution dedicated to supporting those already in distress — not just at risk. AFK delivers direct relief to:

• Children experiencing emotional or psychological distress from screen overexposure and online harm
   
• Carers of neurodivergent children managing meltdowns, behavioural crises, or isolation due to digital overstimulation
   
• Victims of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV), including women, girls, and LGBTQI+ individuals
   
• Families in regional communities with limited access to safe, trauma-informed support
   

Sarah ensures all programs are built with a safety-by-design approach, placing the needs of vulnerable users first.

Sarah has successfully championed state and international resolutions addressing:

• Ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI)
   
• Mandatory AI disclosure in media and commercial productions
   
• Online safety protections for children
   
• Responses to homelessness and digital exclusion
   

Her ability to transform lived experience into policy outcomes demonstrates a unique strength: she does not advocate in theory — she advocates from within.

In March 2025, Sarah served as an accredited delegate to the 69th UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69). Representing Soroptimist International South East Asia Pacific (SISEAP), she facilitated two globally recognised sessions:

• Unsafe by Design: The Unseen Risks of AI for the Girl Child
   
• Agents for Change: Civil Society and the Fight for Safe Technology
   

Her advocacy focused on:

• Digital relief and trauma prevention for girls and women
   
• Ethical AI regulation
   
• Protecting neurodivergent and marginalised users from harm
   

In October 2024, Sarah met with leaders at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), UN Human Rights Commission, and the International Labour Organization (ILO) to advocate for:

• Mandatory AI disclosure in content creation
   
• Global alignment on technology safety standards
   
• Transparency and accountability in AI systems
   
• Protection of human rights in emerging technologies
   

These meetings reinforced AFK’s commitment to providing both relief and systemic reform.

Sarah’s work has been recognised through multiple awards in April 2025, including:

• Volunteer of the Year
   
• Youth Impact Award
   
• Women Changing the World – Global Finalist and Speaker
   

She is a published author, member of the Blue Knot Foundation, and active in networks including:

• United Nations Association of Australia
   
• International Alliance of Women
   
• Women 4 STEM
   
• Australian Women’s Security Network
   
• National Council of Women
   
• Women with Disabilities Australia
   

These affiliations reflect her deep commitment to intersectional leadership and her belief that advocacy must centre the voices of those most affected.

As a SISEAP delegate, Sarah proudly supported Soroptimist International’s written statement to CSW69, advocating for:

• Equal access to education and economic opportunity
   
• Safe digital and physical environments
   
• Universal social protections and gender-responsive policy
   
• Digital inclusion, especially for women and girls with disabilities
   

Sarah’s journey as an advocate is rooted in lived experience, community leadership, and a relentless pursuit of safety for all. As she continues her mission through Away From Keyboard Inc., her focus remains on relieving distress, amplifying underrepresented voices, and creating a future where innovation serves humanity — not the other way around.

Together, we can build a digital world where every child, carer, and survivor feels safe, supported, and seen.