Olivia Evans was just 15 when she took her own life… now her heartbroken dad reveals how he’s kept the special promise they made together before she died
A father who lost his 15-year-old daughter to suicide after a long battle with anorexia has criticised the amount of toxic information he could easily find on Instagram.
Robb Evans’ worst nightmare came true in April 2023, when he learned that his daughter Olivia had committed suicide after struggling with anorexia for two years.
A major factor in Liv’s illness was the easily accessible online advice on how to become a ‘better anorexic’.
“Instagram was the main platform she used,” Evans told Daily Mail Australia.
‘For example, she looked at what exercises she should do and how she could bypass the weekly health checks to avoid hospital admission.
“She learned that you could put weights in your shoes, wear extra layers of clothing, wear extra jewelry, drink a lot of water, things like that.”
The Melbourne father gave himself just three days to grieve before deciding to try to improve the prevention and treatment of eating disorders in Australia.
Along with representatives from 36 Months, including Nova radio host Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli and production company FINCH founder Rob Galluzzo, he presented 115,000 signatures of a petition to the New South Wales parliament in August.
Robb Evans’ 15-year-old daughter Liv (pictured together) committed suicide in April 2023 after a two-year battle with anorexia
Mr Evans (pictured second from right, holding Liv’s ashes) brought his daughter’s urn to the New South Wales Parliament to present 115,000 signatures urging the legal age to use social media to 16.
The project aims to raise the legal age for using social media from 13 to 16, a difference of 36 months.
The motion received bipartisan support in parliament, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and New South Wales Premier Chris Minns.
Mr Evans said the transfer of Liv’s ashes to Parliament was the fulfilment of a promise made during the depths of her illness.
“She and I said we would help people with eating disorders,” he said.
“I’ve always said, ‘When you’re better and you’re ready, I’ll be there for you and we’ll do it together.’”
‘We do that now, but not in the way I wanted.’
Evans’ emotional account of how social media was destroying ‘Liv’s poor character and self-confidence’ prompted the government to organise a Social Media Summit in October.
The New South Wales Government has asked residents to complete a survey and share their views on social media.
The consultation closes on 8 September.
Sydney and Adelaide will host the summit on October 10 and 11 respectively.
While social media was just one of the contributing factors to Liv’s anorexia, Mr Evans believes limiting children’s access to social media can only be a good thing.
“There are so many different pain points because it’s such a horrible and complex disease. Social media is just one element,” he said.
‘Liv’s distorted perception of her body was so drastically affected by what she saw on Instagram, and with AI filters it only gets worse.
“If you can keep them off it for longer, maybe they can think more clearly and build some confidence.”
Mr Evans (left) recalls Liv (right) learning techniques to become a ‘better anorexic’ through Instagram
The urn with Liv’s ashes
Liv started restricting her food intake after being bullied at school at age 13.
“Unfortunately, by the time she was able to explain to me what caused the eating disorder – I talk about it as a tiger – the disorder had taken such a deep hold on her that she didn’t want to change,” Evans said.
‘It is an attack on vulnerable people, especially young girls.
‘For many, it’s about control. They gain control through an eating disorder.
“They don’t have control over everything, but they do have control over how much they exercise and whether they eat.”
Liv’s parents quickly noticed she wasn’t eating enough and did their best to provide her with a “safe environment” while she worked on her recovery.
However, their efforts were often thwarted by false information spread online.
“She once showed me a message that said you can be healthy on 200 calories a day. That’s crazy,” Mr. Evans said.
“You can’t live on 200 calories a day.”
There were several accounts that Liv secretly consulted, where she also learned how to hide her eating disorder from her parents.
“If she had a lollipop or honey, her blood sugar would be better and she would stay out of the hospital longer,” Evans said.
‘She found ways to hide her food, like in clothes, so she could then drop it in the toilet.
‘Until recently, I was still finding food in the strangest places in her room.’
Even when Liv committed suicide after 13 previous attempts, she used a method she found online.
Liv’s parents quickly realised that she was restricting the amount of food she was eating and did their best to provide a ‘safe environment’ while she worked on her recovery. However, their efforts were often negated by fake news spread online (pictured: Mr Evans and Liv)
The 115,000 signatures in the petition (pictured) delivered to the NSW parliament called for the age at which children can access social media to be raised from 13 to 16
“When you lose a child you don’t really know what you’re going to do. We spent a lot of time together and I just felt like I had to do something,” Mr Evans said.
It was three days after [Liv’s death] that I started a mission with things that would impact Liv and save her life.
‘What really breaks my heart is that such a beautiful, delicate and loving girl will not be known to most of the world.
“I just feel like it’s my duty as her father to show everyone who this amazing girl was and what her potential was.
“I think it would be a shame if the world never found out who that person is.”
Based on Liv’s story, Mr. Evans has already secured more funding for health centers for a home-based eating disorder recovery program and dog therapy.
‘JRecently, the 36 Months team reached out to me and said, ‘Look, we’ve been following the seniors’ stories and we’d like your support,’ Mr. Evans said.
“I said I wanted to be involved because it had such an impact on Liv.
‘If we could have protected her for a few more years – I mean, hindsight is always easy.
“It seems like a no-brainer to me that the longer we keep our kids off social media, the better it is for them.”
Mr Evans (right) believes it is his ‘mission’ to spread Liv’s (left) story in the hope it will help others struggling with an eating disorder.
Mr Evans added that a legal framework would reduce the pressure on both parents and children when discussing social media use.
It’s easy to say that parents need to be vigilant and things like that, but there’s so much pressure “On parents having to give their children access to a phone,” he said.
‘Once they have that, they have access to social media and things like that.
“If we can change the law, that conversation will go away.
‘I mean, it’s not often that 13-year-olds pressure their parents to drink alcohol because they know they’re not allowed to and it’s illegal.
“It’s an easy conversation to have.”
The upcoming Social Media Summit will focus on five key issues: the impact of social media on the wellbeing of children and young people, online safety, the role of social media in disinformation and misinformation, tackling online hate and extremism, and how social media is changing the way government delivers services.
NSW residents can have their say on the government’s Have Your Say website until Sunday.
As part of the study, participants are asked at what age they think people should start using social media.
The findings are presented at the top.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Meta, the owner of Instagram, for comment.