CHILDLINE RECEIVED ALMOST 800,000 calls in 2012, but 34 per cent of phonecalls to the service go unanswered.

The ISPCC’s Childline is a a member of Child Helpline International (CHI), which is marking the seventh annual International Child Helpline Day today.

CEO Ashley Balbirnie said that without helplines like Childline, children’s voices would not be heard.

Childline receives no government funding and relies on the generosity of corporate partners and members of the public to maintain the service. ISPCC would like to take this opportunity to thank our dedicated, enthusiastic volunteers throughout the country for their commitment and support, without them we would not be able to provide a helpline for children.

The ISPCC has announced Childline’s annual statistics for 2012, which it says “clearly show the importance of Childline”. It also noted the reasons why children contact the helpline:

It is clear that the issue of child abuse and welfare are still a serious concern in Ireland today with over 14 per cent of contacts made relating to this issue. Bullying also remains a serious concern with over 10,000 contacts from young people specifically related to bullying.

Childline is the only 24 hour listening service for children in Ireland and it said that over 80 per cent of contacts made to the service come during out of hours.

Key statistics include:

• Over 533,729 contacts from children were responded to in 2012
• Over 34 per cent of calls are still going unanswered
• 771,301 calls were received
• 23,726 texts, emails and one-to-one web chats were received
• 45,305 (14 per cent) of contacts made related to abuse and welfare

Childline can be contacted on 1800 66 66 66. For bullying support, text the word ‘Bully’ to 50101; for Teentext, text ‘Talk’ to 50101 from 2pm to 10pm every day.

Read: ISPCC launches campaign to shield children from bullying>

Read: ISPCC launches campaign to shield children from bullying>