The Voices of Children and Young People

Regional Overview
4,786,870 contacts made in 2014 25 Child helplines in Europe which submitted data for this
Main reasons for contact:
psychosocial and mental health,
peer relationships, sexuality
and sexual awareness
Preferred methods of communication:
telephone, chat, e-mail
Largest age groups:
13-15, 10-12, 16-17
report answered nearly 4.8 million telephone calls,
short text messages, e-mails and other contacts made
by children and young people in 2014. A vast majority
of these contacts were calls over the telephone, but
other methods of communication – contributing more
than 500,000 contacts – also proved popular among
children and young people. Among those whose age was
documented girls and boys aged 13-15 represent the
largest age group, followed by children aged 10-12.
Age Distribution of Contacts
Total: 1,415,450
Communication Methods
2%
5%
21%
40%
100%
0-6
7-9
10-12
13-15
16-17
18-25
25+
Telephone
4,263,055
Chat
258,033
E-mail
132,636
Post and Bulletin Board
90,714
Walk-in / In Person
420
Postal
5
19%
8%
4%
Europe
SMS
18,498
Outreach
23,497
12
Fax
A 14-year-old boy was being blackmailed by a girl who had contacted him via Facebook. This girl initiated
a Skype video chat and, after she had heavily flirted with him, begun to undress and urged him to do the
same. The boy obliged – only to receive a threatening message shortly thereafter. The girl requested
400 Euros not to upload a recording of their video chat on YouTube and send the link to all his friends
and family. The boy felt deeply ashamed and said that he would rather run away than tell his parents
about what happened. He asked for advice on how to raise the money. The counsellor explained that this
was a case of widely spread fraud. She advised the boy – who expressed great relief – to respond not
with money, but with a warning that he would inform the police. The counsellor also suggested concrete
steps to prevent further contacts with this girl and to use internet more safely in the future.
25 The total of contacts made in 2014 refers to answered telephone calls and contacts via other communication methods. Answered telephone calls include those which
lead to the child helpline providing direct assistance or active listening, as well as silent, test, abusive and other noncounselling calls.
47