50 children a year contact Childline while trying to take their own life
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Some 50 children a year contact Childline while in the process of trying to take their own life.
The shocking statistic comes as the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC), which provides Ireland’s only 24/7 listening service for children, issued its Christmas appeal for donations, to help ensure that Childline will be available every day and night through the festive season to help children in crisis.
The ISPCC also released statistics which show that more than 300 children made contact with Childline this year in relation to sexual abuse, including rape, incest, and being forced to watch or perform sexual acts;
Some 50 contacts are received every week in relation to sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. Physical abuse contacts are related to domestic violence, hitting, and physical punishment, and peaks when children are 13 years of age. Sexual abuse peaks at the age of 16.
The children and young people who contact Childline tell of trauma which includes sex trafficking, choking, and strangulation and being made to watch and perform sexual acts as well as neglect and abuse.
Anonymised case studies reveal the real-life horror stories facing some children, including:
- ‘Sophie’ whose father has become so out of his mind on drugs at times that he has forced himself on her, thinking she is his partner;
- ‘Aisling’, 16, whose “boyfriend” in his 50s who makes her perform sexual acts that she doesn’t want to do;
- ‘Conor’, 8, who lives in terror of his mother’s new partner who takes his anger out on him. He worries that no one would believe him, although he has the bruises to prove it;
- 'Orla', 10, whose dad has died, and who rings Childline for company while she minds her three-year-old brother when her mother leaves her alone to go out drinking.
ISPCC CEO John Church said it takes a lot of courage for a child to ring Childline.
“We depend on donations for up to 90% of the funding which keeps us listening 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days of the year. Without your help, we wouldn’t be here for the children who need us so much,” he said.
Academy award nominee Saoirse Ronan, who is backing the ISPCC’s Christmas appeal, said: “Childline has long been a cause close to my heart. I urge everyone to donate whatever they can to help ensure that Childline can remain a lifeline to children this Christmas.”
• Children can contact Childline online at Childline.ie or by phone on 1800 666 666.
• You can donate at https://donate.ispcc.ie/.