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| What is a child helpline and other FAQs
This page provides background information and answers to frequently-asked questions on child helplines. Frequently asked questions 1. What is a child helpline? 2. Why a separate helpline for children? 3. Who are these children in need of care and protection? 4. Who contact child helplines? 5. Why do children call a child helpline? 6. What is the impact of a child helpline? Will a child helpline reduce poverty? Can it help in sending children to school? 7. How do child helplines operate in countries where there is no, or limited connectivity? 1. What is a child helpline? A child helpline is a telecommunication and outreach service for children. A child helpline is: 1. Easy to access – toll-free, nationally accessible, easy to remember 3 or 4 digit number 2. Focus on child rights, including child participation 3. Links children to resources and emergency assistance 4. Different methods of communication – phone, online, outreach, post, caravans, radio, etc. It provides assistance, access to other services and plans for the long-term rehabilitation of children in need of care and protection. Child helplines help in providing confidentiality to its callers while at the same time ensuring instant access to support and care. top 2. Why a separate helpline for children? Children in need of care and protection are a vulnerable group. These children are often not aware of their rights and have no knowledge or awareness about the services that are available for them. Therefore a child helpline serves as a vital link between children in need of care and protection and resources or services available for them. A child helpline also serves as an important advocacy tool for child rights and child protection. top 3. Who are these children in need of care and protection? Child helplines cater to all those individuals between 0 and 18 years of age (the definition of a child according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child). Some child helplines also take contacts from or about youth up to a maximum age of 25 years. Children in need of care and protection include street children, abandoned children, missing children, runaway children, children living in slums, children engaged in child labour, victims of sexual/physical emotional abuse, child victims of natural disasters, differently abled child victims of the flesh trade, refugee children, child victims of substance abuse, children with HIV/AIDS or whose parents are affected by HIV/AIDS, children of women in prostitution, children in conflict with the law, children in institutions, mentally ill children or children whose families are in crisis. top 4. Who contacts child helplines? in 2008 more than 14.5 million children, or adults on behalf of children, contacted child helplines around the world. The 'callers' made their contact through different means of communication (phone; SMS; chat; outreach etc.). The majority of contacts are made by children (80%), about 20% of the contacts is made by adults, on behalf of children, or concerning children. Slightly more girls contact child helplines than boys (55% vs 45%). For more information on who contacts child helplines, please see Connecting to Children, 2008 data. top 5. Why do children contact a child helpline? Children contact a child helpline to share their problems, experiences or even emotions, at times to just talk about the events of the day. It is important therefore to treat every call as important, for each child calling in once to talk/share could be a potential child in need of care and protection! Experiences collated from different child helplines reveal that children calling for assistance are often in need of shelter, medical, emotional support or guidance, are in need of support during a family crisis, during abuse (physical/emotional/sexual), in need of repatriation of children, or in need of support for school related problems, etc. Child helplines also receive more indirect calls for assistance, where the person who contacts the child helplines is searching for information, or to share an experience. Information on the reason for children or adults to contact a child helpline in the network is collated annually in CHI's flagship publication Connecting to Children. In 2008, 21% of all recorded reasons was related to the category ‘Abuse and Violence’. This indicates that many children contact the helpline in need of support related to this topic. Another important category is ‘Family Relations’. In 2008 11% of all reasons related to this topic. For an overview of all categories , please see Connecting to Children, 2008 data. top 6. What is the impact of a child helpline? Will a child helpline reduce poverty? Can it help in sending children to school? Child helplines link children in need of care and protection to the services available, and use data on their contacts to advocate for the availability and improvement of these services. Child helplines thus operate as a hub in a country's child protection circle and advocate for its continuous improvement. Through their direct work, child helplines have a direct impact on individual callers’ lives; for example, in the case of child domestic workers who are not allowed to go to school, child helplines have legal teams ready to file a case and to ensure that this child will be able to exert his/her right to education. Indirectly, child helplines work towards strengthening child rights in their given countries, by using their data to advocate to governments and services. Child helplines work towards improving services for children, by ensuring child rights are exerted during a case. Not all allied organisations or systems in countries will be aware of the specific needs and rights of children. Therefore, child helpline also organise sensitisation trainings and programmes for all the systems that come in contact with the child. In the CHI network we use the term 'allied systems' for these organisations, programmes and persons - i.e. systems that are allies of children and therefore of the child helpline. National, regional and city level trainings are regularly organised for sensitising different allied systems and also for strengthening partnerships. top 7. How do child helplines operate in countries where there is no or limited connectivity? Child helplines and information technology play a far greater role in developing countries where a lack of infrastructure can be a challenge. There are many alternative innovative and cost-effective technologies that help reach the marginalized child and link them to the available services. Child helplines work with technologies available to them, and use their data to advocate for improved infrastructure. top |
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