KEY POINTS:
A young woman has taken her own life after researching how on the internet, sparking calls to introduce greater moderation of websites.
Her father will share details of his family's story as the opening speaker of the three-day internet Safety Group NetSafe's conference in Queenstown on Monday.
It is understood the Auckland man wants to raise awareness in tribute to his daughter.
"It's still tough for him to talk about it _ it's not something which he gets up and talks about easily," said NetSafe executive director Martin Cocker.
He said the man asked to attend the conference, where representatives from internet service providers and community agencies will discuss the sensitive issue.
"As a parent, his message is `I need some help...parents need some help...who's going to be the ones to help us?'," said Mr Cocker.
The talk is described in the conference programme as a call toaction.
Worry has mounted internationally over the proliferation of online "suicide sites", which have been implicated in a spate of deaths in Japan and the so-called "suicide town" of Bridgend in Wales.
However, controlling content was notoriously challenging and raised questions around censorship, said Mr Cocker.
Netsafe wanted online community websites to also promote support available online, he said, pointing to social networking website Bebo's "Bebo Be Well" facility, which lists LifeLine and Suicide Prevention Information among the organisation in its New Zealand section, as an excellentexample.
He said pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia websites should also link to support groups.
Mr Cocker said New Zealand was in a strong position to take positive steps as it had a robust education programme and involvement from major industry figures.
But there was friction between the expectation of families and the demands on service providers.
"It's not really our aim that the conference creates a greater awareness of the risks [to young people online]," said Mr Cocker.
"The conference is really focused on developing a knowledge pool of resolutions _ how to address these things, how to make the online environment safer."
US expert Jeffrey Cole is among key speakers at the conference, where discussions will include privacy and cyber-bullying.
- Staff reporters
