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Advice for Minors

This page contains specific advice for minors who which to participate in AWOL – a minor is a person aged under 18.

Minors are welcome at most of our in-person events. Any events that are for people aged 18+ only will be clearly indicated in advance. We ask that anyone who is under the age of 16 is accompanied by an adult at any in-person event.

As long as you at least 13 years old you are welcome to participate on our Discord server, but we encourage you to do so safely. You can find general advice on how to stay safe online here: https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/bullying-abuse-safety/online-mobile-safety/staying-safe-online/

Not everyone you meet online may be who they appear to be at first, and may not have your best interests at heart. This applies even if they claim that they are the same age as you (they may not be) or if they appear to be friendly towards you. Adults on our Discord server are expected to behave appropriately towards young people, but action can be taken against them if they do not.

Should anyone on our Discord server, regardless of their age, and whether or not they are the server owner or a moderator, say or do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, you can take action. This is regardless of whether or not it took place on a server channel, or in a Direct Message (DM) conversation, or on a platform outside of Discord. Action can also be taken if anyone says or does anything to make you feel uncomfortable at an in-person event.

The first step we advise you to take is to talk to a trusted adult, if you feel comfortable in doing so. Trusted adults can be considered to be adult members of your immediate family, social workers who are working with you, or any member of staff at your school (you can talk to staff members at your school about matters outside of school that are bothering you if you wish to). They can assist you in taking further action if further action is appropriate.

Any issue that arises at an in-person event can be flagged immediately with an AWOL Co-Ordinator present at the event, or with the event organiser.

For issues that arise on our Discord server you should also:

  • Take screenshots of the behaviour in question (if the behaviour happened online).
  • If the behaviour has taken place in a direct message (DM), block the user.
  • Report the matter directly to Discord if you feel it is appropriate to do so. Details on how to do that are here: https://discord.com/safety/360044103651-reporting-abusive-behavior-to-discord
  • Report the matter to the server owner or a moderator (whose details are listed on the server), via direct message, if you feel it is appropriate to do so.

Any information shared with an AWOL Co-Ordinator, the Discord server owner, or a Discord moderator may be shared with other parties, which may include the police, where it is deemed appropriate to do so. If you consider it appropriate, you are, of course, free to report the matter to the police directly, or to ask a trusted adult to do so on your behalf.

You can ask a trusted adult to make a report (to Discord, an AWOL Co-Ordinator, the Discord server owner, a Discord moderator, and/or the police) on your behalf if that would make you feel more comfortable. (If approaching a member of staff at your school for assistance, they will most likely refer to your school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead for assistance.)

Please be assured that any information shared with an AWOL Co-Ordinator, the Discord server owner, or a Discord moderator will be handled sensitively. AWOL Co-Ordinators, the Discord server owner, and Discord moderators are unable to promise to keep something a secret, but will only share information with selected others where it is deemed necessary to do so.

Should you ever want to talk to someone independently for support, you can contact Childline:

Website: http://www.childline.org.uk/

Telephone: 0800 1111