The Voices of Children and Young People

Conclusions and
Recommendations
Hundreds of thousands of children and young people with concerns related to psychosocial
and mental health, sexual and reproductive health and rights or HIV/AIDS seek and receive
assistance from child helplines every year.
Child helplines are known to provide accessible and safe guidance and information on all of
these health related and many other topics, regardless of the child or young person’s social,
religious and cultural background.
Child helplines address the need for information, advice, and support by providing counselling
services, referral services, and community oriented programmes.
In addition, child helplines also address the needs of children and young people who do not
contact them, by using the invaluable information they receive from children to advocate for
legislative changes that will improve the protection and fulfilment of children’s rights.
Psychosocial
and Mental Health
A child’s right to the highest attainable emotional
health is recognised in the United Nations Convention
on the Rights of the Child (including Articles 6, 23, 24
and 33).
A state’s obligation to provide appropriate and
adequate support and treatment services is
indisputable, yet in most countries these services
remain inadequate. Governments and policy makers
should address this deficit by recognising and
adequately supporting child helplines to continue
to provide and expand their services. Governments
should recognise child helplines as a viable source
of information to children and young people, on the
issues that affect them directly.
Traditionally, psychosocial and mental health service
providers have not recognised the role of child
helplines in the identification and support of children
and young people with mental health difficulties. It is now
vital that these services seek to engage in comprehensive
partnerships with child helplines through the provision
of training, establishment of clinical referral procedures
and resource support.
It would be beneficial for child helplines to reach out
to traditional services and brief their staff on how they
could work side by side. For example, child helplines
could highlight the fact that their support is non-directive
and can be beneficial alongside therapies without
interference.
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