Voices of Children and Young People: European Union Child Helpline Data for 2020 by Child Helpline International

VOICES OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

European Union Child Helpline Data for 2020

Child Helpline International Pilotenstraat 20-22 1059CJ Amsterdam The Netherlands +31(0)20 528 96 25 www.childhelplineinternational.org Contact us at: data@childhelplineinternational.org Written and edited by: Andrea Pereira PhD, Averill Daly, Ronja Ulvfot, Steve Erwood Data compilation: Andrea Pereira PhD, Averill Daly, Nadža Džinalija, Alice Poutiainen, Natalia Papakosta Design and layout: Ashley Schultz Disclaimer Data presented and statements made do not capture the full scope of practices and policies of all countries and cases handled by child helplines and other child protection organisations at the national level. The exact data can be requested from Child Helpline International. Child Helpline International’s work is firmly grounded in the principles and values enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, including children’s right to privacy and protection from harm. To preserve the trust and confidence children and young people place in child helplines every day, any personal details cited in case summaries has been altered and anonymised. Acknowledgment Child helplines have a unique insight into the gap between policy and reality, making them a key actor in advocating for children’s rights. They support millions of children every year. They respond to issues ranging from serious children’s rights violations, to children who just want someone to chat to on the way home from school. What brings child helplines together is the provision of an easily accessible, confidential system that allows children themselves to tell a counsellor what is going on in their lives. Child helplines also have an insight into the direct experiences of children and young people on a larger scale than any other organisations. Therefore, the value of child helplines’ data on contacts cannot be overstated in informing and guiding policy, learning and practice. We are grateful to all of our members who have dutifully submitted their 2020 data to Child Helpline International, allowing the present report to exist. This publication was funded by the European Union’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme (2014-2020). The content of this publication represents only the views of Child Helpline International. The European Commission does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.

CONTENTS

KEY TAKEAWAYS

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

FOCUS ON: CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

DeafKidz International Inclusion Europe

FOCUS ON: VOICES OF CHILDREN

8 12

Mental Health 20 Violence 22 Peer Relationships 25 Family Relationships 26 Sexuality 27

DEEP DIVE INTO DATA

OUR MEMBERS

116 111 Our Members in the European Union

46 47

KEY TAKEAWAYS 754,221 Counselling contacts

Counselling contacts are those cases for which a child helpline was able to provide assistance to the caller. Non-counselling contacts include (but are not limited to) silent calls, abusive calls, test calls, missed calls and information requests.

1,962,925 Non-counselling contacts

2,717,146 TOTAL CONTACTS

Unspecified/other 23.7%

Mental health 29.8%

Emotional distress – fear and anxiety problems 19.1% Suicidal thoughts and attempts 11.2%

Emotional distress – mood problems 20.2%

Violence 23.1%

Bullying 20.8%

Physical violence 18.9% All other reasons 47.1%

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Unspecified/other 18.8%

Mental/emotional violence 19.7%

Explore these numbers in more detail in the Deep Dive section.

COUNTRIES

More than half of all contacts concern mental health or violence.

The three countries that received the highest number of counselling contacts in the EU were the Netherlands with 21.8% of all counselling contacts in the region, Germany with 14.7% of all counselling contacts, and Ireland with 9.7% of all counselling contacts.

Netherlands 21.8%

Germany 14.7%

Ireland 9.7% REASONS FOR CONTACT

The two main reasons why children and young people reached out to child helplines in the EU in 2020 were violence and mental health. When children and young people had concerns about violence, these most often related to bullying, mental/ emotional violence and physical violence. When children and young people had concerns about mental health, these most often related to emotional distress, were related to mood (e.g., low mood, sadness) or anxiety (e.g., fear), or they were experiencing suicidal ideation (thoughts or attempts).

Greece 8.5%

Czechia 6.9%

Denmark 6.4% France 5.5% Austria 5.1% Sweden 4.6% Poland 3.5% Belgium 3% Lithuania 2.4% Spain 2.2% Finland 1.2% Malta 1.2% Romania 1.0% Latvia 0.9% Italy 0.5% Slovenia 0.5% Portugal 0.2% Croatia 0.2% Luxembourg 0.1% Cyprus 0.003% KEY TAKEAWAYS | 3

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS Child Helpline International has a vision of a world where children can be heard one by one, and through their voices shape the world and realise their rights. Access to high-quality child helplines is essential to promote and protect children’s rights. Child helplines are a safe and confidential mechanism for children to talk about anything they want, big and small, and they provide immediate psychosocial support, information or referral to other appropriate services. In addition, child helplines are important actors in the monitoring of children’s rights issues, and the anonymous data they collect is key information for the development of policy and practice. Because of this, we strongly recommend that:

RECOMMENDATION

ALL CHILDREN SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO A CHILD HELPLINE

All children in Europe should have free and easy access to a high-quality child helpline, including those who are the most vulnerable. Child helplines in Europe should be sufficiently funded to operate in accordance with Core Quality Standards for Child Helplines. They should have sufficient resources to be able to respond to all contacts made by children, and have the technology and human resources to be accessible to particularly vulnerable children with certain communication needs.

RECOMMENDATION

CHILD HELPLINES SHOULD BE RECOGNISED AS AN ESSENTIAL SERVICE National child helplines should be widely recognised as essential children’s services in Europe, with appropriate financial support for sustainable operations being made available. The operation of the 116 111 number should be widely recognised as a key mechanism to protect children against violence and sufficient resources should be allocated for this purpose. This initiative has been covered in the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child, but needs to be supported at a local level through legislation and policies.

RECOMMENDATION

CHILD HELPLINES SHOULD BE PROVIDED WITH SUFFICIENT FUNDING Child helplines should be provided with sufficient funding and support to ensure reliable data management to generate evidence for positive impact, policy and practice. Child helplines should be provided with sufficient resources be able to operate high-quality, GDPRcompliant data management technology, as well as human resources to conduct reliable analysis for policy and practice development.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS | 5

FOCUS ON CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES FOCUS ON:

Child Helpline International strongly believes that every child – including those with disabilities – should have free and unrestricted access to child helpline services. Children and young people with disabilities are a highly diverse and often particularly vulnerable group. They are also less likely to access support due to various barriers they have to face, in many mainstream services as well as with child helplines. Finally, there is a lack of data on the issues facing children and young people with disabilities. As part of our WeListen Programme*, Child Helpline International has worked since 2018 to harmonise child helpline data collection categories on particularly vulnerable children and young people, including those with disabilities, to get a greater understanding of their situation in the EU, as well as increasing the level of knowledge within our network. Our aim is to better reflect reality and contribute to the availability of reliable data for EU policymakers. You can take a further look at our data in detail on page 28. Due to a diverse range of accessibility needs for children and young people with disabilities, child helplines need additional resources to be able to develop accessible services through technology, human resources and training. We turned to two experts in the field, Inclusion Europe, and DeafKidz International to learn more about children with intellectual disabilities and deaf children respectively, and to explore how child helplines can best provide support for these groups. *The WeListen Programme is funded by the European Commission’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme (2014-2020).

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Q&A WITH JAZ MANN, SENIOR PROGRAMMES LEAD, DEAFKIDZ INTERNATIONAL

WHAT DOES DEAFKIDZ INTERNATIONAL DO FOR DEAF CHILDREN?

DeafKidz International (DKI) was founded by Steve Crump, deaf himself, in 2013 after witnessing the appalling abuse suffered by deaf children in sub-Saharan Africa. DKI delivers global projects to address the vital gaps in meeting the safeguarding and protection needs of deaf children and reducing risk and vulnerability while supporting deaf children, young people and adults to lead their fullest lives, ensuring equal and rightful access to health, education and employment with their hearing peers. Please visit our website for more information: www.deafkidzinternational.org

WHAT ARE THE MAIN SAFEGUARDING ISSUES WHEN IT COMES TO DEAF CHILDREN?

Deaf children are three times more likely to be abused than hearing children, and are also less likely to receive the protection and support they need when experiencing abuse. There are several factors contributing to them being at greater risk. Communication barriers are a main reason, with deaf children struggling to make themselves understood with adults and professionals who are unable to use sign language, when they need to share issues of concern or worry. Also, the majority of reporting systems in place are often inaccessible to deaf children. Professionals aren’t trained to be aware of their needs nor how to work with them should the need arise. Information and guidance on how to keep safe is mostly unavailable to deaf children in an accessible format, i.e. in their first language, sign language.

CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES | 9

IN YOUR VIEW, WHERE ARE WE MISSING INFORMATION/DATA?

If an incident is reported involving a deaf child, there are no standard questions capturing vital basic information in the first instance – whether a child is deaf, what their communication method is – i.e. do they sign, and if so, which country’s sign language do they use? Do they lip read/use gestures/have any language skills? With no consistent information recorded, how does anyone know they’re deaf and that they will need specific services? On referral, how do you enquire if the child is deaf, to establish their communication method? What if the alleged abuser/witness is a sign language user? Are staff aware of the need to book professional interpreters for the initial interview/ assessment/therapy? Without this information being recorded as standard practice when an incident is first reported, timely and appropriate support wouldn’t be possible, unlike with hearing children. Data relating to disability is often available, but this isn’t broken down into individual disabilities and their related needs, and data recording is inconsistent. But without appropriate data capture, adapting to meet the needs of deaf children will not be possible, the scale of abuse of deaf children will continue to be hidden, and deaf children will continue to be marginalised – one of the main factors contributing to the vulnerability of deaf children.

IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE POLICY – WHAT WOULD IT BE?

A policy making it mandatory for all information/guidance to be translated into sign language would be amazing, with governments providing a ring-fenced budget to allow agencies to book qualified interpreters whenever deaf people are involved, including funding for training new interpreters. Service providers should be forced to take responsibility for understanding and accommodating the needs (and particularly the safeguarding needs) of deaf children as standard procedure. We all need to ensure that the voices of deaf children are heard – ask them and listen to them! What barriers do they experience, how do they want you to adapt to meet their needs? How can you make them feel included, not excluded and marginalised?

WHAT GUIDANCE CAN YOU GIVE TO CHILD HELPLINES ON HOW THEY CAN BE ACCESSIBLE TO DEAF CHILDREN? There are many simple things you can do, which are not complex or expensive. Work with deaf organisations to help you adapt, to accommodate their needs. Child Helpline International and DKI are working together to develop a new, bespoke eLearning learning resource to assist you in working with deaf children, providing guidelines on how to improve access to your services. This will be available really soon through the eLearning centre!

WHY IS THE NUMBER OF REFERRALS FROM/ABOUT DEAF CHILDREN SO LOW, DESPITE THEM BEING AT GREATER RISK?

hir d the t obally, s i s f n es ty gl Dea disabili ren are ly to e st hild larg deaf c ore like g an d m e s m earin ti an h h e t e d r e th bus ildren. be a ch

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It’s vital that services meet the needs of everyone, not just those able to access it in standard, straightforward ways. If services aren’t being taken up by deaf children, then you must ask why and what changes need to be made. Ask deaf people, work with local deaf organisations, ensure you’re meeting their needs from the beginning – it is only by reaching out to deaf organisations or directly into the deaf community, that deaf children will know your services exist/what you can do for them/and how to contact you, and that these services are accessible to them.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE OR MOST IMPACTFUL STORY THAT YOU CAN THINK OF WHEN WORKING WITH DEAF CHILDREN?

There are too many to choose! However, our philosophy has been particularly successful! We use a model whereby we train deaf adults in the subject we wish to work on with deaf children, teaching them using a deaf-friendly methodology from the beginning, not simply taking standard materials, and delivering them in the way a hearing group would be taught with the addition of an interpreter, but using materials created from scratch to suit the learning needs of deaf people, from a deaf perspective. Those adults then deliver sessions to deaf children through their shared, native language. To see the engagement, the excitement, the thirst for knowledge created between deaf trainers/coaches and the deaf learners, their growth, the increased confidence and self-esteem is just … simply … awesome! We’ve seen this so many times across our programmes using this method, and its appropriateness and relevance for deaf children is clearly proven! One quote that struck me is from a deaf girl in India, Tayyaba: “DeafKidz Goal’s football sessions have filled me with joy and given my life a new meaning and direction… I get to learn not only football but so many life lessons in sign language, something that doesn’t happen even in my school” Our DeafKidz Goal project in Nagpur, India, is one of our global programmes making a huge impact on deaf children, by providing vital life skills training, delivered in Indian Sign Language by deaf football coaches.

WHY DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH DEAFKIDZ INTERNATIONAL?

Growing up as a profoundly deaf sign language user, from an ethnic minority group in the UK, I faced, still face, and continue to battle to overcome many barriers in society. Now, I have a 10-year-old deaf son, and he is beginning to experience similar barriers even in these current times. My dream is for him to live in a society without barriers, where deaf people are treated the same as hearing people. I want to ensure that, for his future and the future of other deaf children, he has many more services accessible to him, that can assess his needs, and meet those needs, to help to fill in the gaps, and hope that life will be better for him. There is a long, long way to go on this journey, but we must start somewhere. I feel privileged, working for DKI, to be able to support deaf people and play a part in developing mainstream services to welcome and embrace deaf people!

“THEY ARE MAKING ME CRY…”

A 15-year-old girl contacted the child helpline. She couldn’t explain very well what was troubling her, and this was part of the problem she was having to deal with. She was deaf, and when she tried to tell the counsellor something or make a point, the counsellor struggled to fully understand her. This was also the case with her father and siblings, who made fun of her, which made her cry. The counsellor reassured her that it was important for her father to be aware of how he was making his daughter feel. The counsellor gave her some specific advice on how to start a conversation with her father about the situation. The counsellor also suggested that she could involve someone she trusted to help her have this conversation, or she could even try to write her thoughts and feeling down in a letter to her father.

Q&A WITH HELEN PORTAL, ADVOCACY AND POLICY OFFICER, INCLUSION EUROPE

WHAT DOES INCLUSION EUROPE DO FOR CHILDREN WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES? Inclusion Europe represents 20 million people with intellectual disabilities and their families, in 39 European countries.

We work on inclusive education for children to make sure they are included from their youngest age, make some friends, and have access to quality education. And even more so for children with complex support needs who are the most often forgotten. We just released a position paper explaining our views and why we think children with and without disabilities should not be separated to be provided education, because it is by growing up together that they will learn from each other and become open to different skills. Our work also goes towards securing proper living conditions for children, and especially to avoid children’s institutionalisation. Having inclusive education and proper support contributes to this. We also took part in the consultations for the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child and the European Child Guarantee to ensure children with intellectual disabilities are represented and their needs are met.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHILDREN’S RIGHTS ISSUES THAT YOU ENCOUNTER WHEN IT COMES TO CHILDREN WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES?

Our report from March 2021 focuses on several issues children with intellectual disabilities face, such as access to healthcare and early childhood intervention, access to mainstream education, to support for education and their daily lives. “States should do more for an estimated 93 million children with disabilities [globally] who are among the most likely to be left behind and the least likely to be heard,” said Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. One of the reasons to explain this could be institutionalisation. With the exception of Sweden, all 26 EU Member States have large-scale institutions for children with disabilities. While there seems to have been a decrease in the numbers over the past 10 years, there is no change overall, no data or a slight increase of the use of the services. 12 | FOCUS ON

IN YOUR VIEW, WHERE ARE WE MISSING INFORMATION/DATA?

There is barely any data at all when it comes to children with intellectual disabilities. According to Eurostat, there would be 68 million children below 15 years old with disabilities in the EU. This does not tell us whether they have an intellectual disability, whether they are in school, have proper living conditions, or are victims of violence. This lack of data is problematic because it makes the situation of children with intellectual disabilities invisible. Because there is no proper information, we can’t know the extent of the problems they experience and tackle them with effective policies.

IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE POLICY – WHAT WOULD IT BE?

One urgent policy to change and where child helplines could be of great help is violence against children. According to the World Health Organisation, children with disabilities are three to four times more likely to experience violence. It is even worse for children with mental health issues or intellectual disabilities, who have a 4.6 times higher risk of experiencing sexual violence than non-disabled children. One place where violence occurs that we often forget about is in residential institutions. This was proved in our recent report on violence against women in institutions who gave testimonies on the various forms of violence they have experienced living there.

“...HE IS EVEN MORE VULNERABLE TO ABUSE.”

A 17-year-old boy contacted the child helpline to talk about the violence he was experiencing in his foster family. Two weeks ago, he arrived at his foster family’s home, and another minor was also placed with the same family. The other minor had an intellectual disability, which mad him “even more vulnerable” to the abuse and terror they had to endure. The boy told the counsellor about a range of incidents, from being kicked out of the house, hit with fists and objects, and threats that the children would be stabbed. During a recent dispute, the teenager was able to record a video of the exchanges to illustrate the abuses and show that the adult yelled at him “from morning to night.” All the efforts he had made to calm the atmosphere at home had been in vain. The situation was deteriorating, and the arguments were becoming more and more frequent. The child helpline contacted the professional responsible for the minors and reported the matter to the police to ensure the safety of the children as soon as possible.

CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES | 13

WHAT GUIDANCE CAN YOU GIVE TO CHILD HELPLINES ON HOW THEY CAN BE ACCESSIBLE TO CHILDREN WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES? When promoting and disseminating information about child helplines, make sure this information reaches children and young people with intellectual disabilities.

This means that information must be provided in easy-to-read and understandable language. It also means that children with intellectual disabilities must feel touched and see themselves in this communication and confident enough that this also applies to them. It also means it must reach them, so places where they go to school or might live, and many children with intellectual disabilities still go to separated special schools or live in residential institutions. Make sure that all the features are accessible. For example, if there is an online chat system, it should be easy to use.

WHY DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH INCLUSION EUROPE?

I got involved at Inclusion Europe as I had grown up with a sister with disabilities, and I had also studied law. Combining these two elements to defend the rights of people with disabilities’ seemed logical to me. Inclusion Europe’s work spoke to me, as did the way the organisation sees how the world should be to ensure that people with intellectual disabilities are happy and can fulfil their dreams and ambitions.

IS THERE A PARTICULAR DOMAIN TO DEVELOP IN CHILDREN’S PROTECTION? I spoke about our research on violence against women in institutions. For this, a methodology was developed to speak to female victims of violence. From this, several testimonies were collected and some recommendations were made to prevent violence from occurring.

While it might be assumed that the particular issues being dealt with by people with intellectual disabilities would be addressed by surveys and covered by research, this is not always the case, and information about violence against children with intellectual disabilities – especially girls – can become especially blurry. We know that girls with intellectual disabilities are sometimes victims of forced sterilisation for instance, but there are no exact numbers for such cases in Europe, nor adequate policies to address or prevent it.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE OR MOST IMPACTFUL STORY THAT YOU CAN THINK OF WHEN WORKING WITH CHILDREN WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES. I think the most impactful story I heard was the one of Elisabeta Moldovan.

As a child, she was victim of abuses several times, she went from orphanages to institutions and saw a lot of violence. She managed to escape from this and is now a well-known and successful disability activist, being a role model for many. She wrote about her life experiences in the book Becoming Eli.

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“I SAY OBSCENE THINGS OUT LOUD. I JUST WANT TO BE NORMAL…”

A 14-year-old boy who made contact had Tourette Syndrome, and some people laughed at him because of this. His sister and his friends defended him as much as they could when they saw this happening, but he still got into trouble for using obscene language. He said he tries to hold back, not to say “more obscenities”, tries not to respond altogether, but often found this very difficult to do. He did not feel that he would ever have a “normal life”. The counsellor explained that no one has the right to make him feel bad about himself or to laugh at him because of this. They informed him that many people who have the same syndrome were able to enjoy normal lives, and this was something he would be possible for him to achieve as well. The boy acknowledged that, while he used to fail in school because other students laughed at his syndrome, he currently has a group of friends who support him and accept him as he is. During the conversation, however, some of the people who regularly mock him showed up and started laughing. The boy and his friends started to get angry, but the counsellor explained the importance of not responding to these people. They encouraged the boy to talk more with his parents about his experiences. They planned with him how he could make this happen, and his sister would be able to support him, to make this conversation easier. They explained how it was important that his parents know the problems he faces so that they can help him and support him as well. The boy thanked the counsellor, and ended the phone call more confident and determined to talk to his parents about his concerns.

CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES | 15

FOCUS ON VOICES OF CHILDREN

VOICES OF CHILDREN FOCUS ON:

Every child and young person has the right to be heard, the right to protection and the right to access essential services, free from bias or other barriers. Child helplines play a crucial role in the promotion and realisation of children’s rights in Europe. Our members actively listen to and help children and young people. They prevent violence and other forms of harm against children. Ultimately, they empower children and young people to help themselves. In order to understand the issues faced by the children and young people around the world, we gather information every year from our child helplines members about the types of contacts they receive. The following pages contain stories from the children and young people who have called our members’child helplines in the EU. These and their stories, and their voices.

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30%

Mental health FIVE MAIN REASONS FOR MAKING CONTACT

We obtained data from 25 child helplines across 23 countries, which represents the 89% of our membership in the EU. Mental health and violence were the two largest reasons for contact reported by these child helplines in 2020. Half of the time that a child reached out to a child helpline in the EU, it was to discuss a concern related to mental health or to a situation of violence. Our members also received a large number of contacts relating to peer relationships, family relationships and sexuality.

23% Violence

More than four out of five times that a child or young person contacted our members, it concerned one of these main five categories: 1. Mental health 2. Violence 3. Peer relationships 4. Family relationships 5. Sexuality

14%

Peer Relationships

14%

Family Relationships

Sexuality 19

MENTAL HEALTH FOCUS ON:

“MY MUM DOESN’T WANT ME LIVING WITH HER…”

A young girl contacted the child helpline in tears. She told the counsellor that she felt very anxious and had been self-harming by cutting herself. She explained that her parents had divorced, and while she now lived with her father her two younger siblings were living with their mother. She wanted to live with her mum and siblings too, but her mum didn’t want her to move in. The girl’s relationship with her parents appeared to be uncommunicative and difficult, and it seemed that talking to the parents was not going to help resolve the situation. Together, the girl and the counsellor talked about different ways she could ease the situation and her levels of emotional anxiety, and the counsellor encouraged her to try talking to her student counsellor who could potentially help and support her more. The child was initially a little scared about talking with another outsider but agreed that this could be a good place to start. The counsellor encouraged her to call again, reassuring her that if things still didn’t improve for her they could try to get her more help, if she wanted or needed them to.

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“I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO DEAL WITH MY FEELINGS...” A 16-year-old boy called the child helpline because he had been feeling bad lately and had no idea how to deal with his feelings. Because it hadn’t been possible to see his friends during the Covid 19 pandemic, he had been distancing himself and pulling away from them. He had been at home for a while and had got into several fights with his parents and siblings. Now he felt angry, confused and lonely. The counsellor asked about his situation at home, and it quickly became clear that the boy wasn’t feeling particularly valued, was looking for some love and affection, and was generally finding it hard to understand what he was experiencing. The counsellor explained how normal it was to feel lots of different emotions, even ‘’bad’’ ones, and they talked about how this was affecting his behaviour. They talked about the stresses and tensions everyone was feeling due to the pandemic restrictions, and they talked about ways he could engage his family in spending quality time together, sharing with each other how they were feeling and not just yelling at each other whenever they felt angry or frustrated. The counsellor helped the boy understand his own emotions, and the different things he could do to try to express himself. The boy called back a few hours later to say that he talked to his mum about the way he has been feeling and how everyone else had been acting around him, and they had agreed that they would talk with whole family about how to best deal with the emotional situations they were finding themselves in.

“YESTERDAY I SWALLOWED SOME PILLS, AND I THINK I MIGHT TRY AGAIN TODAY…”

A 15-year-old girl contacted the child helpline to tell them that she had swallowed some pills the day before, hoping that she would not wake up afterwards. She was now afraid that she was going to do the same thing again today. She had argued with her mother, and both parents had been verbally and physically abusive to her in the past. She had a history of self-harming, and had been seeing a psychiatrist and a psychologist, although she stopped taking her prescribed medication a few days ago. She felt like her situation was never going to change, and she expressed a desire to live with a foster family. The counsellor commended her for bravery, and for her willingness to take steps to improve her situation. She was already considering getting social services involved. The counsellor reassured her that she didn’t have to take all of the next steps entirely on her own, and they suggested that the child helpline could contact social services on her behalf. Together, they talked about what she was going to do with the rest of her day, what activities – such as listening to music, going for a run, reading or singing) would help to calm her down. She agreed she would think about these things and write them down on paper, doing some of them whenever she started to feel overwhelmed by her emotions like she had done yesterday. She promised not to hurt herself and to call an ambulance if she did. They talked about how she might talk with her psychiatrist about resuming her therapy. She also agreed that she would contact the child helpline again whenever she needed to.

She was scared about talking with an outsider but agreed that this could be a good place to start.

“MY MOTHER HAS JUST BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER…”

A 16-year-old girl experiencing severe anxiety due to her mother’s illness got in touch with the child helpline. Her mother had recently been diagnosed with cancer and the girl was finding it difficult coming to terms with this. She wasn’t sleeping very easily at night, and consequently she was feeling both tired and irritable. She told the counsellor that she was finding it hard to concentrate on any tasks for any length of time. The counsellor talked with her about the role she was now having to play in her family. She realised that she felt like she was having to act as her mother’s “mother”. This realisation helped her understand the situation she was in a little better, and she began to explore her emotions more effectively from this perspective. The counsellor discussed with her the specific medical information about her mother’s illness and the therapy she undergoing, and through talking about this and understanding it more, the girl was starting to feel as though she was regaining some control over her situation. The counsellor encouraged her to acknowledge and expand her support network. They also recommended further support she could seek out in case she continued to have difficulty sleeping. At the end of the counselling session the girl said she felt much more empowered. VOICES OF CHILDREN | 21

VIOLENCE FOCUS ON:

“MY BROTHER HURTS ME, AND THAT MAKES ME WANT TO HURT MYSELF…”

A teenager called the child helpline because she was suffering from severe physical and psychological abuse by her older brother. Her parents, who were divorced, had been unable to help. The boy treated his mother in a similarly violent way, and although the father had tried to address the situation, nothing had worked. When she no longer felt able to cope with the abuse, the girl had started to harm herself. The counsellor reassured her that nobody had the right to treat her in this way. The counsellor worked with the girl to address her low self-esteem and her self-harming and provided some guidelines as to how to try to avoid potentially violent situations with her brother in future, but also how to react and ask for help and protection if it continued. As the situation was very serious, the counsellor asked the girl for her personal data and her consent so that the child helpline’s social and legal departments could properly evaluate the situation and refer the case to the authorities as appropriate. She provided this information, and her case was referred to the Child Protection system. In a follow-up call, the girl informed the child helpline that social services had now become involved and was doing everything possible to help the family.

Social services has become involved and is doing everything possible to help the family.

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“MY STEPBROTHER ASSAULTED MY SISTER AND ME…”

A teenaged boy called the child helpline to report how his 19-year-old stepbrother had assaulted his younger sister. She had told her parents that the stepbrother had come into her room at night, but they had not believed her. Now the stepbrother had also turned his attention towards the boy, telling him to keep his advances (showing him sexualised photos, touching him and making further advances) as “their little secret”. However, the boy had reported the incidents to his parents but no longer knew how to face the stepbrother, who ws still living under the same roof. The counsellor listened to the boy and commended him for his great courage in speaking up about the situation, standing up to the stepbrother and being able to tell his parents about the situation. They told him that he had done exactly the right thing and that it was now his parents’ responsibility to take the further steps necessary. The counsellor reassured the boy that he had the right to protect himself, and that his parents had a duty to protect him and his sister. It was clear to the counsellor that the boy was still going through a difficult time, and they encouraged him to seek further help, including contact the child helpline again at any time he felt the need to talk to somebody.

“MY GRANDMOTHER SAYS THAT I’M FAT AND STUPID, AND NOBODY LOVES ME…”

A 10-year-old girl called the child helpline because her grandmother was constantly very mean and rude to her, calling her fat, stupid and annoying, and telling her that she wasn’t at all loved. The girl’s parents sent her to this grandmother’s house whenever they had a lot of work that they needed to focus on. The girl hadn’t told her parents about her grandmother’s behaviour, but she felt that she needed to talk to someone and tell her story, so that she could feel safe and understood. She talked to the counsellor for a long time, about the grandmother, that she hadn’t been the same lately, and that she used to be sweet and nice but has changed a lot. The counsellor explained how people might change as they get older, but this didn’t mean it was acceptable for her to behave towards her granddaughter in this way. The counsellor asked the about the things she enjoyed doing, and what could help to ease her anxiety make her feel more positive about herself. The counsellor asked the girl if she was able to talk to her parents about the situation, but she was too afraid to do this by herself. Instead, the counsellor suggested that, if she thought it could help, she should bring her parents into the room and put her phone on speaker, so they could all have a conversation together. The girl agreed, and the counsellor was able to talk with the parents and explain to them what was going on, and how their daughter was feeling about the visits to her grandmother.

VOICES OF CHILDREN | 23

“MY MOTHER’S BOYFRIEND KEEPS SAYING DIRTY THINGS TO ME, AND MY MOTHER JUST GETS JEALOUS ABOUT IT…”

A 14-year-old girl called the child helpline and informed them that she had been abused at home for a long time. Her mother’s boyfriend was making sexual overtures towards her, making nasty comments about her body, and making suggestions as to what he’d like to do with her. Her mother was becoming jealous and had started to hit and yell at her, and the girl had started to feel she deserved this abuse from her mother. She herself now felt completely powerless and anxious, and didn’t want to talk to anyone about it, including her father, because she felt ashamed. The girl revealed that she had been self-harming, as it was the only thing she could do to take her mind off the anger and anxiety she was feeling. The counsellor asked her about her relationship with her father, from whom she felt distant and was uncertain that he would believe her if she told him about what was happening. The counsellor then explored her other resources - those people she might be able to talk to instead, the activities and things she enjoyed doing that might help her feel less anxious all the time. Together they made a plan for the next steps to take. The child helpline would contact social services on her behalf, so that appropriate steps could be taken to ensure her safety and security.

They made a plan for the next steps to take.

24 | FOCUS ON

PEER RELATIONSHIPS FOCUS ON:

“SCHOOL IS ONLINE NOW, AND I’M DRIFTING AWAY FROM MY SCHOOLFRIENDS…”

A boy called the child helpline to say he felt lonely and didn’t have any friends. He explained that, after his school went online due to the lockdown measures during the Covid-19 pandemic, he felt that his friends were ignoring him, and he hadn’t been able to talk to them anymore. He had contacted the child helpline to have someone he could talk to, and he was hoping they might be able to help him rekindle his friendships. The counsellor and the boy discussed the impacts that the Covid-19 pandemic was having on people and how they were spending their time now that they could not meet each other face to face. The boy realised that, after a while, he and his friends had all simply become tired of texting each other, and after talking things through with the counsellor, he came up with the idea of setting up some video calls with his friends, so that they start connecting with each other again, but this time in a much less boring way.

“I REALLY LOVE MY BOYFRIEND BUT OUR RELATIONSHIP ISN’T SEXUAL ENOUGH FOR ME…”

A young woman contacted the child helpline via chat. She told the counsellor that she had a boyfriend whom she really loved and wanted to be with but didn’t feel that their relationship was as sexual as she had hoped it would be. She felt at a loss as to what to say or do. She didn’t want to hurt her boyfriend’s feelings, and didn’t want their relationship to end, but at the same time she wasn’t happy with how everything was. Together with the counsellor she talked about what makes a relationship good. They discussed how feelings were something one couldn’t have complete control of and explored ways of how to talk about difficult topics in a relationship. The young woman felt some relief after having the chat and agreed that she’d think about things further. She wasn’t sure whether to tell her boyfriend about her feelings yet but decided that she did need to work on how they were communicating with each other. In particular, she was keen to initiate a new level of discussion with him around sex and sexuality.

VOICES OF CHILDREN | 25

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS FOCUS ON:

“I WANT TO PLAY WITH MY FRIENDS, BUT MUM SAYS I HAVE TO GET MY HOMEWORK DONE FIRST…”

An 11-year-old boy contacted the child helpline, worried about his relationships with his mother. He explained that they were having arguments about his homework almost every day. His mother expected him to do his homework before she got home from work. He wanted to use this time to play with friends and felt that he could do his homework later on in the evening. The arguments had started half a year ago and the boy was finding them quite exhausting. The counsellor asked the boy what happened at the end of these arguments. He explained that he would ignore his mother for a while, and they would eventually start talking to each other again. But then, it was as though nothing had happened, and so the problem wasn’t really going away. The counsellor helped the boy to normalise his feelings of frustration and his worries, and they explored ways in which the boy could tell his mother more about how he was feeling and why he needed to spend some time with his friends. The boy felt more confident about dealing with his situation after the conversation, thanked the counsellor and said goodbye.

26 | FOCUS ON

“MY MUM DOESN’T CARE ABOUT MY DAD ANYMORE. AND SHE DOESN’T CARE ABOUT ME, EITHER…” A 12-year-old girl contacted the child helpline because her parents were separating. They had been arguing with each other for several months now, and the girl knew that her mother did not want to live with her father anymore. The girl felt very disappointed with her mother and blamed her for being the one walking out on the family. The girl had been able to talk about things with her father a little, and this just seemed to upset her mother even more. It didn’t seem to her that her mother actually cared about how she was feeling anymore and was only concerned about herself.

The counsellor helped the girl to accept her hurt and feelings as being normal to have when faced with an unpleasant situation like this. They also explained how it would take time for everyone to accept all the changes, and to understand what it meant for them and for each other. The counsellor helped the girl to understand that, while her parents’ feelings for each other may have changed, it did not mean that their feelings towards her would as well. The counsellor discussed with the girl how she could talk to her mother and express her own feelings and emotions to her mother. Her mother wanted the girl to see a psychologist, and the counsellor reassured her that this could indeed help her learn how to deal more easily with these difficult situations and the conflicts between her parents.

SEXUALITY FOCUS ON:

“MY PARENTS DON’T QUITE UNDERSTAND WHAT BEING TRANS MEANS FOR ME…”

A 12–14-year-old trans boy had been going through gender diagnostic procedures (psychiatric evaluation), but there were very few psychosocial support services available for him. Trans children already have to deal with a lot of stress in their lives and the process of psychiatric evaluation can be especially stressful. In addition, his parents didn’t fully understand LGBTQ-issues and even though they were trying to be supportive, they were incapable of talking about sexuality and gender, which made the boy feel that he wasn’t loved and accepted for whom he was. As a consequence, he’d had to make a lot of big decisions – like talking about his gender at school and solving issues with locker rooms etc. – without much parental support, and this was also very stressful for him. The trans boy had already been relying on the child helpline’s support for over a year. The biggest support the child helpline could provide was to be by his side, to listen to him, support his self-esteem, give him good information on the support that was available to him, and to keep him feeling hopeful during those trying times. The child helpline was beginning to encounter a lot more trans children and young relying on the child helpline’s support for long periods during some very difficult times. The child helpline was doing as much as it could, although it felt that some very important services and support systems were missing for this particular group of children and young people.

“HE THREATENED TO SPREAD MY NAKED PICTURES ONLINE UNLESS I PAID MONEY…”

A boy told the child helpline that he had been video-calling with a girl on Google Hangouts who he believed to be about his own age. However, when he had finally been persuaded to appear naked on camera in front of her, the image of the girl on the screen suddenly turned into that of an adult man. The man then asked the boy for money, threatening to spread the material if he did not pay up. Although the boy had blocked this contact and did not send any money, six months later he was still anxious to know whether it would be likely that the video of him would still be spread online. The counsellor talked with this boy about all the steps he had already taken to minimise the chances of the material being spread. However, because there could be no guarantee that this might not still happen, they advised the boy to create a Google Alert. In this way, if the video did spread, he would get a notification, and further actions could be considered at that time. They also recommended that the boy try to talk to trusted adult about what had happened to him, so that he could come to terms with what had happened to him.

VOICES OF CHILDREN | 27

DEEP DIVE INTO DATA

DATA DEEP DIVE INTO

When we have the correct information, we can find the best way forward to meet the rights of every child and young person. And how do we ensure we have this correct information? It’s very easy: We listen. Every year, Child Helpline International collects data from our child helpline members and shares it among them, so that we can all learn together from what the children and young people who contact child helplines are telling us. The information enables our members to improve their services and provide decision-makers with reliable data to ensure that children’s rights policy effectively addresses the issues children are facing. We are therefore proud to present this publication, which showcases the data on the contacts made by children and young people with child helplines across the EU during the year 2020. The report not only provides an insight into the issues facing children in the EU, but also offers solutions as to how we can all help to improve their lives. Throughout the year, children and young people in the EU contacted child helplines with questions about sexual behaviour and sexuality, and with concerns about family and peer relationships. However, more than half of the counselling contacts that were made related either to mental health or violence. As stated in the EU Charter for Fundamental Rights, “Children shall have the right to such protection and care as is necessary for their well-being”. Furthermore, children have the right to be protected from violence (UNCRC, Article 19), and the right to the highest attainable standard of health and health care services, including mental health (UNCRC 24). This publication clearly shows the important role child helplines play in protecting children from violence and promoting their mental health, alongside the many, many other reasons for contact. Our child helpline members in the EU share knowledge, experiences and expertise with each other to protect children from violence and to promote their physical and emotional wellbeing. More importantly, we work together to achieve a common goal: ensuring that every child has free and unrestricted access to child helpline services, including children who are particularly vulnerable. Every child has a voice. A story to tell, a trouble to share. A question to ask, a problem to solve. A cry for help to be answered. Child helplines in the EU will continue to do what we have done for years to ensure the rights of every child and young person. We Listen.

30 | DEEP DIVE

THE DATA: CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE MAKING CONTACT WITH CHILD HELPLINES IN THE EU METHODOLOGY

In order to understand the issues faced by the children and young people who get in touch with child helplines, we survey our members around the world every year to gather information about the contacts they receive from children and young people. This report presents the compilation and analysis of the data on the contacts received by child helplines in the European Union (EU) during the year 2020. Depending on the requirements of their counselling and research activities, our child helpline members record various information for every contact they receive. In order to understand why children and young people are contacting child helplines, and who are those children and young people, Child Helpline International works closely with our members to create a common categorisation of those contacts. This categorisation includes ten broad issues or reasons for making contact with child helplines as well as nine types of contextual information, all of which are further sub-divided. The child helplines indicate to us, on a yearly basis, the number of contacts received for each of ten broad issues and reasons, which are further sub-divided, as to why children and young people have for contacting them. They also provide some contextual information. It should be noted that the content and level of detail of information recorded for each contact is the prerogative of the child helplines themselves and is not directed by Child Helpline International. Therefore, these categories might differ from the categories used by some child helplines when they originally collected their data. It should also be noted that child helplines have differing practices relating to the information recorded. Whereas some indicate the reason given for calling by the child or young person, others indicate the reason identified by the counsellor, which in some cases might not be the same. It should also be noted that the absence of contacts in a particular category could mean that the child helpline did not receive any contacts pertaining to that category, or that the child helpline does not collect this data. RESPONDENTS

We obtained data from 25 child helplines across 23 countries in the EU, which represents the 89% of our full members in the region. For this publication, we have added up the number of contacts received by each of those child helplines in each category of contact throughout 2020. Region

European Union

Full Members 28

Submissions 25

Response rate 89%

OVERALL NUMBER OF COUNSELLING AND NON-COUNSELLING CONTACTS IN THE EU IN 2020

In 2020, our child helpline members received a total of 2,717,146 contacts – both counselling and non-counselling contacts across 23 countries. This means that in 2020 a child or young person in the EU has actively reached out to a child helpline almost 3 million times. This is the number of all contacts received. Non-counselling contacts include questions, information requests, missed contacts, silent contacts and testing contacts.

DATA | 31

Specifically, our child helpline members in the EU received a total number of 754,221 counselling contacts in 2020. That means a child or young person in the EU has actively reached out to a child helpline and obtained advice, help or support almost a million times. This represents 27.8% of all EU contacts and is the number of times a child helpline was able to provide support, advice or another form of counselling to a child or young person, often offering some form of follow-up (see Actions Taken page 41). Region European Union

Type of Contact

Number of Contacts %

Non-counselling contacts

1,962,925

Counselling contacts TOTAL

754,221

27.8%

2,717,146

100%

72.2%

The following pages focus on these counselling contacts and break them down into various issues. NUMBER OF COUNSELLING CONTACTS PER COUNTRY

Netherlands

Germany

Ireland

% Rank

164,521

21.8% 1

72,925

9.7% 3

110,744

Greece

63,970

Denmark

48,478

Czech,Republic

14.7% 2 8.5% 4

52,125

6.9% 5

41,811

5.5% 7

Sweden

34,345

4.6% 9

Belgium

22,573

3.0% 11

16,791

2.2% 13

Malta

8,993

1.2% 15

Latvia

6,425

0.9% 17

Slovenia

3,736

0.5% 19

Croatia

1,217

0.2% 21

0.003% 23

France

Austria

Poland

Lithuania

Spain

Finland Romania Italy

Portugal

Luxembourg Cyprus TOTAL

32 | DEEP DIVE

Counselling Contacts

38,648

26,268

18,382 9,093

7,188

3,752

1,307 909

754,221

6.4% 6 5.1% 8

3.5% 10 2.4% 12

1.2% 14 1.0% 16

0.5% 18

0.2% 20 0.1% 22

100%

THE DATA: CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE MAKING CONTACT WITH CHILD HELPLINES IN THE EU BACKGROUND INFORMATION

As part of the data we collected from our members in the EU, we obtained some background information on the children and young people who made contact with the child helplines, shedding light on who these children and young people are. GENDER

Our data suggest that girls are more likely to contact child helplines in the EU than boys – 48.2% of the counselling contacts were made by girls, compared to 38.4% by boys. Girls contacted child helplines 363,180 times and boys contacted child helplines 289,579 times. The gender of 5.0% of the callers was not identified, and 0.1% of the contacts were made by children and young people identifying as non-binary. These analyses include 25 child helplines, representing 100% response rate for this question. Type of Contact

Gender

Counselling contacts

Boy

Girl

Number of Contacts

% Rank

363,180

48.2% 1

2,519

0.1% 4

289,579

Non-binary Unknown

38.4% 2

98,943

TOTAL

5.0% 3

754,221

100%

AGE

Most contacts in 2020 in the EU came from young people who were 13-15 years-old (28.8%) and 16-17 years-old (17.8%) (excluding contacts where the age remained unknown). The smallest number of contacts related to children in the age groups of Unborn, 00-03, and 04-06 years old. The low contact rate from the very young ages is to be expected as these contacts are exclusively from adults on behalf of children, and not all child helplines take those contacts. These analyses include 22 child helplines, representing 88% response rate for this question.

2 3

4 5

Age

Unborn 00-03 04-06

6,311

10,526

0.004%

0.9%

1.5%

28,960

13-15

197,753

28.8%

73,099

10.7%

Unknown

139,014

20.3%

TOTAL

686,166

100%

10-12 16-17

25+

07-09

Number of Contacts

18-24

89,115

122,015

19,345

4.2%

13.0%

17.8%

2.8%

DATA | 33

CALLERS

Our data shows that the majority of the contacts came from the children and young people themselves (82.7%), who accounted for over three quarters of all contacts. The second and third largest sub-categories of callers were person in position of responsibility (9.8%) and adult on behalf of a child (4.8%). To a lesser extent, the remaining contacts came from other (1.9%) callers and child calling on behalf of another child (0.8%). Hence, in the EU, it is mainly children and young people themselves who contact child helplines. These analyses include 13 child helplines, representing 52% response rate for this question. Caller

Number of Contacts

Child

254,580

Person in Position of Responsibility

30,199

Adult on Behalf of a Child Other

Percent Rank 82.7% 1

14,726

4.8% 3

2,540

0.8% 5

5,922

Child on Behalf of Another Child

TOTAL

9.8% 2

307,967

1.9% 4

100%

METHOD OF CONTACT

Our data shows a very clear trend that almost all of contacts received by child helplines were made by telephone (67.7%). The second and third largest methods of contacts received were via website chat (15.6%) and e-mail (8.0%). In much smaller amounts, contacts were also received through social media (3.5%), text messages (SMS) (3.3%), mobile apps (0.5%), bulletin boards (0.3%), website forums (0.04%), and walk-ins (0.03%), with other unspecified methods accounting for the remaining 1%. Method of Contact Telephone

Website chat

Number of Contacts 384,593

% Rank

67.7% 1

88,831

15.6% 2

19,978

3.5% 4

e-mail

45,338

Text message (SMS)

18,747

3.3% 5

2,805

0.5% 7

Social media Other

Mobile app

Bulletin board

Website forum

Walk-in / In person TOTAL

5,665

1,832 241

143 568 173

8.0% 3

1.0% 6

0.3% 8

0.04% 9

0.03% 10 100%

THE DATA: REASONS FOR MAKING CONTACT We obtained data from 25 child helplines mapped at a categorical level as outlined by our Data Framework. It is important to note that not all child helplines report on every reason for contact at a (sub-)category level.

34 | DEEP DIVE

Mental health (29.8%) and violence (23.1%) were the two largest reasons for contact reported by the child helplines in the EU in 2020. Over half (53.0%) of all contacts were related to one of those two topics, which are identified as crucial areas by Child Helpline International. This means that half of the time that a child reaches out to a child helpline in the EU, it is to discuss a concern related to their mental health or to a situation of violence. Child helplines also received a large number of contacts related to peer relationships (13.6%), family relationships (13.6 %), and sexuality (9.2%). More than four out of five times that a child or young person contacted a child helpline in the EU, it concerned one of these five categories (89.3% of all counselling contacts). Category

Reason for Contact

Missing Children

Mental Health

2 4

Violence

Physical Health

Access to services

Family Relationships

4,554

209,465

5 6

Number of Contacts

Discrimination and Exclusion

Peer Relationships

Education and occupation Sexuality TOTAL

0.5%

23.1%

270,163

29.8%

12,348

1.4%

41,597 2,858

123,263

4.6%

0.3%

13.6%

123,406

13.6%

83,297

9.2%

905,118

100%

34,167

3.8%

Reason for Contact Mental Health 29.8% Violence 23.1% Family Relationships 13.6% Peer Relationships 13.6% Sexuality 9.2% Physical Health 4.6% Education and occupation 3.8% Access to services 1.4% Missing Children 0.5% Discrimination and Exclusion 0.3%

The following pages focus on these main five reasons for contact.

DATA | 35

REASON 1: MENTAL HEALTH DATA Mental health was the main reason for contact reported by child helplines in the EU in 2020. Our child helpline members responded to 270,163 contacts on issues regarding mental health. This represents 29.8% of all the contacts, or one in three contacts who received counselling. Unspecified/other concerns (23.7%) was the largest reason for mental health contacts reported by child helplines in the EU. Of the specified mental health sub-categories, emotional distress – mood problems (20.2%), emotional distress – fear and anxiety problems (19.1 %), and suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts (11.2%) are the three largest reasons for mental health contacts. These three sub-categories represent more than half of all contacts about mental health (50.4%). All other sub-reasons accounted for 25.9% of the contacts. This data, provided by 24 child helplines, represents a 96% response rate for this category of reasons for contact.

1 2 3 4

5 6

7 8

Mental Health: Sub-category

Addictive behaviours and substance abuse

3.2%

Concerns about the self

11,331

4.2%

Emotional distress – fear and anxiety problems

51,519

19.1%

Emotional distress – anger problems Emotional distress – mood problems Neurodevelopmental concerns

Problems with eating behaviour

Self-harming behaviour

Traumatic distress

8,717

Behavioural problems

Number of Contacts

Suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts Unspecified/other TOTAL

7,990

14,197

3.0% 5.3%

54,468

20.2%

7,808

2.9%

524

18,310

0.2% 6.8%

30,165

11.2%

64,060

23.7%

270,163

100%

1,074

0.4%

Subcategories definitions: Forms of emotional distress – mood problems refer to negative mood, including for example, but not limited to, sadness, depressed mood, grief, and loneliness. Forms of emotional distress – fear and anxiety problems can include, for example, but are not limited to, stress; sudden episodes of intense fear; persistent and irrational fear of a specific thing or situation; flashbacks; disturbing thoughts; obsessive thoughts or behaviours and stress related to a past traumatic event.

36 | DEEP DIVE

THE GENDER OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Our data shows that the child or young person most likely to contact child helplines about mental health issues was a girl: overall girls contacted more frequently than all other modalities for gender (boys, non-binary). This was the case in the three largest identified sub-categories of mental health: emotional distress – mood problems, emotional distress – fear and anxiety problems, and suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts. Notably, girls accounted for over two thirds of the contacts in the sub-categories: Problems with eating behaviour (87.8% girls) and self-harming behaviour (81.5% girls). There were however a couple of exceptions: in the subcategories of neurodevelopment concerns and additive behaviours and substance abuse, boys contacted slightly more often. Mental Health: Sub-category

Girl

Addictive behaviours and substance abuse

3,722

Concerns about the self

6,976

Behavioural problems

Emotional distress – anger problems

Emotional distress – fear and anxiety problems Emotional distress – mood problems Neurodevelopmental concerns

Problems with eating behaviour

Self-harming behaviour

3,516 7,328

Boy Unknown Non-binary

4,381

3,005 3,776

5,854

472

107

1,463

1,012

14 297

8,761

31,900

12,981

9,513

6,857

638

300

203

14,922

321

1,530

165

113

5,797

Unspecified/other

24,825 151,560 (56.1%)

792

N/A

1,783

22,090

TOTAL

28,429

Suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts Traumatic distress

604

N/A 13

2,171

107

7,592

31,408

235

60,590 (22.4%)

57,347 (21.2%)

666 (0.2%)

REASON 2: VIOLENCE DATA Violence was the second largest reason for contact reported by child helplines in the EU in 2020. Our child helpline members responded to 209,465 contacts on issues regarding violence. This represents 23.1% of all the contacts, or one in three contacts who received counselling. In 2020, one in five child or young person who contacted the child helplines in the EU about violence wanted to discuss bullying (20.8% of the contacts in this category). This was closely followed by mental/emotional violence (19.7%), physical violence (18.9%), and unspecified/other concerns (18.8 %). These contacts accounted for close to four out of every five violence-related contacts (78.2%). A smaller portion of contacts were made up concerns regarding sexual violence (10.0%), neglect (or negligent treatment) (8.2%), and then all other sub-reasons accounted for 3.6% of the contacts.

DATA | 37

This data, provided by 25 child helplines, represents a 100% response rate for this category of reasons for contact.

1 2

Violence: Sub-category

Number of Contacts

Bullying

Child/Early/Forced marriage

43,667

20.8%

0.04%

0.0005%

0.01%

41,201

19.7%

6,784

3.2%

Child labour

Commercial sexual exploitation (offline)

477

Gender-based harmful traditional practices (other than FGM)

N/A

7 8 9

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

Harmful traditional practices other than child marriage and FGM Mental/emotional violence

Neglect (or negligent treatment)

Online sexual abuse

Physical violence

Unspecified/other

17,188

Online sexual exploitation

151

Sexual violence

0.01% 0.2% N/A

8.2% 0.1%

39,523

18.9%

39,356

18.8%

20,994

TOTAL

209,465

10.0% 100%

THE GENDER OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Our data shows that girls contacted the child helplines more than boys in most subcategories for violence. The exceptions were for bullying and neglect (or negligent treatment), whereby boys contacted slightly more often than girls. A notable exception was unspecified/other concerns of violence where contacts where the gender was unknown had the highest number of contacts. Limited data points were collected for nonbinary callers; therefore, we are unfortunately not able to determine any trends. Violence: Sub-category Bullying

Child/Early/Forced marriage

Child labour

Boy Unknown

18,975

22,206

2,338

N/A

Non-binary

148

N/A

Commercial sexual exploitation (offline)

351

111

Gender-based harmful traditional practices (other than FGM)

N/A

23,454

15,786

1,902

3,970

2,521

292

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

Harmful traditional practices other than child marriage and FGM

Mental/emotional violence

Neglect (or negligent treatment)

Online sexual abuse

Online sexual exploitation

7,621

8,596

N/A

959

N/A

485

Physical violence

20,908

17,104

1,463

Unspecified/other

10,885

9,446

18,985

81,386 (38.9%)

26,490 (12.6%)

358 (0.2%)

Sexual violence TOTAL

38 | DEEP DIVE

Girl

14,990

101,231 (48.3%)

5 469

REASON 3: PEER RELATIONSHIPS DATA Concerns about peer relationships were the third largest reason for contact reported by child helplines in the EU in 2020. Our child helpline members responded to 123,406 contacts relating to peer relationships. This represents 13.6% of all the counselling contacts in the EU. The two main reasons for contacts relating to peer relationships were partner relationships (45.5%) and friends and friendships (41.4%). These two subjects accounted for more than every three out of four peer relationship contacts made to child helplines (86.9%). A smaller portion of contacts were made up concerns regarding classmates/ colleagues relationships (6.8%) and unspecified/other concerns (6.3%). This data, provided by 23 child helplines, represents 92% response rate for this category of reasons for contact.

Peer Relationships: Sub-category

Classmates/colleagues relationships

Friends and Friendships

Unspecified/other

Number of Contacts

8,388

51,087

Partner Relationships

6.8%

41.4%

56,095

45.5%

123,406

100%

7,836

TOTAL

6.3%

THE GENDER OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Our data suggests that girls contacted the child helplines more than in boys for all subreasons of peer relationships. A very small number of contacts from non-binary children was recorded. Peer Relationships: Sub-category Classmates/colleagues relationships Friends and Friendships

Girl

4,405

30,752

Boy Unknown

3,296

1,523

111

1,893

763

30,942

23,359

TOTAL

71,263 (57.7%)

47,249 (38.3%)

5,164

Non-binary

18,701

Partner Relationships Unspecified/other

677

1,705

4,668 (3.8%)

226 (0.2%)

REASON 4: FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS DATA Our child helpline members in the EU responded to 123 263 contacts related to family relationships. This represents 13.6% of all the contacts in the EU who received counselling. Relationship to caregiver (37.1%), which includes parents and guardians, was the largest sub-reason for family relationships contacts reported by child helplines in the EU. It was closely followed by unspecified/other concerns (34.3%). This can include, for example, relationships with other family members such as grandparents and cousins. These two sub-reasons accounted for nearly three fourths (71.4%) of the total contacts received in the category family relationships by child helplines. A smaller portion of contacts were made up concerns regarding family health and wellbeing (17.9 %), and then all other sub-reasons accounted for 10.7% of the contacts.

DATA | 39

These data provide from 23 child helplines, representing 92% response rate for this category of reasons for contact.

1 2 3 4

Family Relationships: Sub-category

Number of Contacts

Adoption, fostering, and extended family placement Family Health and Wellbeing

3,659

3.0%

22,120

17.9%

9,527

7.7%

Relationship to caregiver

45,717

Unspecified/other

42,240

34.3%

123,263

100%

Relationship with sibling(s)

TOTAL

37.1%

THE GENDER OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Our data suggest that girls contacted the child helplines more than all other modalities of gender, including boys, for all sub-reasons of family relationships. More specifically, girls contacted more than twice as often as boys concerning their relationship to caregivers. A very small number of contacts from non-binary children was recorded. Family Relationships: Sub-category

Girl

Adoption, fostering, and extended family placement Family Health and Wellbeing Relationship to caregiver

2,126

1,244

13,394

7,948

Unknown Non-binary 281

767

27,797

13,362

4,476

23,592

8,427

10,043

178

72,929 (59.2%)

34,134 (27.7%)

15,907 (12.9%)

293 (0.2%)

Relationship with sibling(s)

6,020

Unspecified/other TOTAL

Boy

3,153

340

REASON 5: SEXUALITY DATA Our child helpline members in the EU responded to 83,297 contacts relating to sexuality. This represents 9.2% of all the contacts in the EU who received counselling. When children and young people contacted child helplines in the EU to talk about sexuality, four out of five mainly wanted to talk about sexual behaviours (80.5%). The remaining contacts were primarily interested in discussing sexual orientation and gender identity (16.9%), and a small number of contacts were related to unspecified/ other concerns (2.6%).

Sexuality: Sub-category Sexual behaviours

Number of Contacts 67,014

80.5%

2,179

2.6%

Sexual orientation and gender identity

14,104

TOTAL

83,297

Unspecified/other

16.9% 100%

This data, provided by 20 child helplines, represents 80% response rate for this category of reasons for contact.

40 | DEEP DIVE

THE GENDER OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Our data shows that boys contacted child helplines two times more frequently than girls for issues about sexual behaviours. Conversely the number of contacts from boys and girls was relatively balanced for the sub-reasons sexual orientation and gender identity and unspecified/other. It is interesting to note that the child helplines in the EU received nearly twice as many counselling contacts from boys than from girls about issues concerning sexuality and the sub-reason sexual behaviour. This category is hence one of the few categories where the contacts are not dominated by girls. In addition, for those child helplines who record and report non-binary contacts, we noted that contacts relating to sexuality and gender identity accounted for a comparatively higher number of contacts being made by this group. This indicates that sexuality and gender identity is a key reason for non-binary children and young people making contact with a child helpline. Sexuality: Sub-category

Girl

Sexual orientation and gender identity

5,337

Sexual behaviours

7,625

445

24,214

41,026

1,581

30,323 (36.4%)

50,045 (60.1%)

2,039 (2.4%)

Unspecified/other TOTAL

Boy Unknown

772

1,394

Non-binary

697 193

890 (1.1%)

ACTIONS TAKEN

Child helplines do more than take calls and talk to children and young people, child helplines engage in different actions to help children and young people that reach out to them. The actions taken by the child helplines are steps taken outside of the contact in order to provide more support and referrals. A total of 163,970 contacts where actions were taken was recorded by EU child helplines in 2020. Recommendations of resources (39.8%) by the child helpline were by far the most frequent action taken, accounting for more than a third of the actions taken in the EU. It was closely followed by referrals to other organisations (16.9%) and referrals to child protection agencies (15.4%). All other actions taken accounted for 27.9% of the contacts. These data on the Actions Taken provide from 19 child helplines, representing 76% response rate for this question. Actions Taken: Sub-category

Number of Contacts

Recommendations of resources

65,242

Direct interventions by the child helpline

Referrals to child protection agencies

25,286

Referrals to law enforcement agencies

13,182

Referrals to other organisations

27,674

16.9%

0.04%

163,970

100%

2 4 6

7 8

Referrals to general healthcare services Referrals to mental health services Referrals to school counsellors

Reports to Child Sexual Abuse Material Other

TOTAL

6,977

9,028 258

5,780

10,477

4.3%

39.8%

15.4%

5.5%

8.0%

0.2%

3.5%

6.4%

DATA | 41

DEFINITIONS OF MAIN THREE ACTIONS TAKEN

Recommendations of resources refer to children or young people who, for different reasons, have been given the contact information of a relevant agency for them to contact themselves. Also often called “soft referrals”. Referrals to child protection agencies refer to children or young people who, for different reasons, have been referred to the child protection agency in the country / region of the child helpline. Referrals to other organisations refer to children or young people who, for different reasons, have been referred to any other relevant organisation in the country / region of the child helpline.

VULNERABLE GROUPS DATA (N=3) In order to shed light on the realities of children with a disability in the context of child helplines, we look at the data we collected from our EU members on the vulnerable groups to which the children and young people who made contact with them belonged. Only three of the child helplines in the EU – representing only 12% of our child helpline members who provided us with data for 2020 – were able to provide us with information about contacts that had been made by children and young people belonging to vulnerable groups. This limits the generalisation of findings but provides some insight into these groups. These three child helpline members responded to 3,968 contacts made by the most vulnerable groups of children and young people who contacted in 2020. This represents 9.2% of all the contacts in the EU who received counselling. Children who are members of an ethnic/ racial/ religious minority (43.5%), and LGBTQI+/ SOGIESC children (40.1%) were the two largest sub-groups of children and young people who are members of vulnerable groups. They accounted for over three fourths of the contacts received by child helplines in the EU for which a vulnerable group was identified (83.7%). This was followed by contacts by children with disability (7.8%), children on the move (involuntarily) (4.4%), and children living in poverty (2.6%). Finally, the remaining contacts from vulnerable groups were made by children in conflict with the law (1.5%), out-of-school children (0.1%), and children on the move (voluntarily) (0.5%). There were no contacts related to children living in conflict zone or children who are members of other vulnerable groups. Vulnerable Groups

Child member of an ethnic/racial/ religious minority LGBTQI+/SOGIESC child

Child with disability

Child on the move (involuntarily)

Child living in poverty

Child in conflict with the law

Out-of-school child

Child on the move (voluntarily) TOTAL

42 | DEEP DIVE

Number of Contacts

Percent

Rank

1,592

40.1%

173

4.4%

1,728

309

43.5%

7.8%

104

2.6%

0.1%

3 5

1.5%

0.03%

3,968

100%

Our data shows that girls accounted for over half (58%) of all the contacts when a child or young person making contact was a member of a vulnerable group. This was close to 1.5 times more as often as boys who accounted for a fourth of the contacts (37%). With a smaller portion of the contacts related to contacts about children and young people where the gender was unknown (1%), and children and young people who identify as non-binary (3%). Child helplines also reported the highest number of contacts from children and young people of unknown gender as well as non-binary children in the subcategory of LGBTQI+/SOGIESC children. Vulnerable Groups

Girl

Boy

Unknown

Child in conflict with the law

27 (45.8%)

32 (54.2%) N/A

N/A

Child living in poverty

79 (76.0%)

22 (21.2%)

3 (2.9%)

N/A

Child living in conflict zone

Child member of an ethnic/ racial/religious minority Child on the move (involuntarily)

Child on the move (voluntarily)

Child with disability LGBTQI+/SOGIESC child

Out-of-school child Other

TOTAL

N/A

Non-binary

N/A

1,222 (70.7%)

484 (28.0%)

18 (1.0%)

4 (0.2%)

1 (100.0%)

130 (75.1%) N/A

2 (1.2%) N/A

1 (0.6%)

178 (57.6%)

N/A

638 (40.1%)

25 (1.6%)

120 (7.5%)

N/A

40 (23.1%)

131 (42.4%)

809 (50.8%)

1 (50.0%) 1 (50.0%) N/A

2,310 (58.2%)

1,485 (37.4%)

N/A 48 (1.2%)

N/A

Totals

59 (100%) N/A

104 (100%) 1728 (100%)

173 (100%)

1 (100%) 309 (100%)

1592 (100%)

N/A 2 (100%) N/A

125 (3.2%)

N/A

3,968 (100%)

DATA | 43

OUR MEMBERS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

116 111 SIX DIGITS TO REMEMBER 116 111 is the number reserved for child helplines in the EU. This number is currently operational in 23 out of 27 Member States (and seven other European States outside the EU in addition). The EU Commission has identified child helplines as a service of social value, and the harmonised 116 111 number is an important part of a reporting system to tackle abuse and exploitation of children and young people. The Council of Europe has included child helplines in integrated national strategies to protect children from violence. For children and young people, having a short, easy-to-remember number is very important to make child helplines accessible. In 2017, the University of Suffolk and Child Helpline International conducted a study on the awareness of child helplines and the 116 111 number. The study concluded that between 25% and 50% of children were aware of child helplines and/or the 116 111 number. It is of the utmost importance that children and young people are aware of the existence of the 116 111 number. Further awareness raising is crucial. Governments, children’s rights partner organisations, telecoms and industry partners should use their platforms to promote awareness of the 116 111 number to make sure that every child is heard. Check out our website www.116111.eu for more information.

116 111

ONE VOICE ONE NUMBER

Funded by the European Union.

46 | CHILD HELPLINE INTERNATIONAL

AUSTRIA

147 Rat Auf Draht 147 http://www.rataufdraht.at

LATVIA

Uzticibas Talrunis 116 111 / 800 6008 http://www.bti.gov.lv/lat/uztivibas_talrunis

BELGIUM

Jongerenlijn AWEL 102 http://www.awel.be

LITHUANIA

Vaiku Linija 116 111 http://www.vaikulinija.lt

BULGARIA

Child Helpline Bulgaria 116 111 http://www.sacp.government.bg

LUXEMBOURG

Kanner Jugendtelefon KJT 116 111 http://www.kjt.lu

CROATIA

Hrabritelefon 116 111 http://hrabritelefon.hr

MALTA

Kellimni http://www.kellimni.com

CYPRUS

Call 116111 Cyprus 116 111 http://www.call116111.com

Support Line 179 116 111 / 179 http://fsws.gov.mt/en/appogg/Pages/ support-line-179.aspx

CZECHIA

Linka Bezpeči 116 111 http://www.linkabezpeci.cz

NETHERLANDS

De Kindertelefoon 116 111 / 0800 0432 http://kindertelefoon.nl

DENMARK

Børne Telefonen 116 111 http://bornetelefonen.dk

Helpwanted.nl +31 20 261 5275 http://helpwanted.nl

ESTONIA

Lapsemure http://www.lapsemure.ee/forum_est

POLAND

Telefon Zaufania 116 111 http://www.fdds.pl

FINLAND

Child and Youth Phone 116 111 http://www.mll.fi/nuortennetti

PORTUGAL

SOS Criança 116 111 http://iacrianca.pt/intervencao/sos-crianca

FRANCE

Allô Enfance en Danger 119 http://www.allo119.gouv.fr

ROMANIA

Telefonul Copilului 116 111 http://www.telefonulcopilului.ro

GERMANY Kinder- und Jugendtelefon 116 111 http://www.nummergegenkummer.de/ kinder-und-jugendtelefon.html

SLOVAKIA

Linka Detskej Istoty 116 111 / 0800 112 112 http://www.ldi.sk

GREECE

The Smile of the Child 116 111 / 1056 http://www.hamogelo.gr

SLOVENIA

National Telephone Helpline TOM 116 111 http://www.e-tom.si

Together for Children 11525 http://www.mazigiatopaidi.gr

SPAIN Teléfono ANAR de Ayuda a Niños y Adolescentes 116 111 http://www.anar.org/necesitas ayuda-telefono-ninos-adolescentes

HUNGARY Lelkisegély-vonal 116 111 http://www.kek-vonal.hu/igy-segitunk/ a-116-111-segelyvonalrol IRELAND

ISPCC Childline 1800 66 66 66 http://www.ispcc.ie/childline

ITALY

Hello Telefono Azzurro 19696 http://www.azzurro.it

For a full list of Child Helpline International members, click here!

SWEDEN

BRIS 116 111 http://www.bris.se

MEMBER LIST | 47

Every child has a voice. No child should be left unheard. Child Helpline International is a collective impact organisation with 167 members in 140 countries and territories around the world (as of November 2021). We coordinate information, viewpoints, knowledge and data from our child helpline members, partners and external sources. This exceptional resource is used to help and support child protection systems globally, regionally and nationally, and to help our members advocate for the rights of children and amplify their voices. Child Helpline International Pilotenstraat 20-22 1059CJ Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 (0)20 528 9625 www.childhelplineinternational.org