WHY DO CHILDREN go missing in Ireland – and what happens to them?
The ISPCC has envisaged one worst-case scenario in an upsetting (be warned) short film which they are hoping will highlight their 116 000 Missing Children’s Hotline.
The video - available to share on Youtube – tells the tale of ‘Molly’, a young Irish girl who runs away from an abusive home and wanders the streets of Dublin, vulnerable and alone.
Warning: the six-minute film – which shows events through Molly’s eyes – is distressing and not suitable for younger viewers:
via ISPCC Childline/Youtube
The hotline 116 000 was launched in June to provide advice and support to young people and adults – it is not an emergency service number, but it is hoped that it can be a place for children to turn if they are feeling desperate.
Today is Missing Persons Day – the first such in Ireland. Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald said that the 116 000 hotline is “not only to support families of children who have gone missing but also to support children who have run away or are thinking of running away”.
There have been over 30,000 missing children reports in Ireland since 2008.
The ISPCC hopes that the video will be shared through social media – using the hashtag #MissingChldren on Twitter, for example – in order to reach as many young people as possible.
The 116 000 number is free to call and there is also an automated text support service – look at missingchildrenshotline.ie for more information.
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