Background to the Research

• ChildLine is the world's first free national 24-hour telephone helpline set up for children and young people in trouble or danger. It is confidential and open every day. ChildLine has been answering calls from NI along with the rest of the UK since the agency was set up in 1986. Up until 1994, children from NI have had to compete with children from all parts of the UK.
• ChildLine found that high demand figures demonstrated that there was a particular need to address. In November 1994, with support from the NI Office, ChildLine established dedicated lines for children phoning from NI. The dedicated lines have made it much easier for callers from NI to receive the help they need. ChildLine has seen a significant increase in the number of children from NI who are able to get through as a result of dedicated lines. This has led to the demand (as measured by calls attempted) to drop: children do not have to try so often before getting through.
  

Research Approach

• This paper reports on the concerns of children in NI as they have been described to ChildLine over a three-period (between 1 April 1994 and 31 March 1997) and is based on the accounts of over 7,000 children counselled by ChildLine in that time.
  

Main Findings

• ChildLine has counselled and advised 8,190 children and adults in NI, since 1994. The majority of those counselled (97%) are children and young people.
• The overwhelming majority of child callers from NI are ringing about a problem they have themselves. But ten per cent are children whose concerns are for others.
• Children from NI contact ChildLine about a range of worries and concerns - being bullied or being abused, having problems within the family or with friends, concerned about behaviours such as eating disorders, drug or solvent abuse.
• There was a higher proportion of calls from NI (9%) about pregnancy than throughout the UK (7%). The legislation around family planning, specifically abortion, in NI is unclear. This is reflected in the calls.
• Children and young people from NI are more reluctant to give information about themselves than their counterparts in the rest of the UK. Far fewer callers allowed counsellors to refer them on to other relevant helping agencies. ChildLine has made a total of 19 referrals to Health and Social Services Boards, police and the ambulance service in NI.

Conclusions

Counselling centre for NI

• The calls from children in NI demonstrate a high level of need alongside a sense that these children may find it more difficult to seek help than children from the rest of the UK. Evidence from calls to ChildLine shows that they experience higher levels of stress than their UK counterparts. This poses a significant challenge to ChildLine and all agencies working with children, and the entire community.
• In response to this need, ChildLine plans to open a counselling centre in NI. This centre will enable ChildLine to counsel many thousands more children every year.

Additional Note from ChildLine

• ChildLine NI was opened in 1999 and since then volunteers at the base have given counselling and support to over 22,000 children and young people. The trends identified by the report are still prevalent today, with bullying being the most common reason children contact the helpline, and there are greater numbers calling about pregnancy and sexual health issues than in the rest of the UK. ChildLine NI is planning to revise and update the report in the near future.