Calls to Childline increase by 72%

CALLS to Childline about sexual issues and physical abuse increased by 72% last year, but four out of five calls went unanswered.

The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children blamed the rise on the lack of information and support available to young people along with the premature sexualisation of young people.

Notably, the number of calls made from mobile phones to the helpline rose substantially.

The independent review, conducted by the Children’s Research Centre at Trinity College, revealed the increase of 72% brought the number of calls to over 780,000.

The ISPCC described the rise as alarming and distressing.

Four out of five calls had to go unanswered because of a lack of resources.

Childline chief executive Paul Gilligan admitted the service, which involves hundreds of volunteers, was unhappy that so many calls go unanswered.

“We are committed to the challenge of striving to answer all calls,” he said.

With almost 5,500 calls relating to abuse, Mr Gilligan said the issue reinforced the need to ensure child protection remained a key political priority for 2004.

Childline, he said, believed it was imperative that:

Adequate and comprehensive vetting procedures are introduced for those wishing to work with children, and;

Those in possession of, purchasing, and supplying child pornography are identified and comprehensive child protection investigations are initiated into all those identified.

The review revealed, in some cases, abuse incidents reported to Childline were forwarded to other agencies, including the gardaí.

The organisation said the high number of calls about sexual issues reflected a worrying trend of confusion among young people.

“Over the last four years, there has been a marked increase in the number of these calls which reflect not only the lack of information and support available to young people in this area but also the increasing sexual pressures on young people in general,” Mr Gilligan said.

The review, meanwhile, noted 49% of the calls answered concerned young people discussing specific problems as opposed to just chat calls or people getting to know the service.

According to the ISPCC, the increase in the number of calls answered was heartening.

The review also revealed calls concerning sexuality and sexual issues were significantly higher last year.

The review concluded Childline provided a voice to children who succeed in accessing the service.

“The achievement of this aim depends largely on the call facilitators and their performance, in turn, depends on their training, support, commitment and motivation,” the review noted.