Childline inundated with calls in first month
23 Dec 2009, 6:52 PM
The Maldives’ new children’s helpline has been inundated with calls despite only being launched in mid-November, on the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
“We haven’t even started advocacy work and already we’ve received 400 calls in the first month,” said Munzir Ismail, consultant at the Department of Family and Gender. The Child Helpline call centre had been expecting around 270 calls.
Half the calls were requests for information, guidelines and procedures while 37 provided information leading to cases, 15 involving sexual abuse. Four of those calls were made by children themselves, three to report sexual abuse.
“This is the first time [the department] has received any cases from a child,” Munzir said. “Before the helpline we were notified by letters, government agencies and especially the police. But there’s never been a case reported by a child.
Become a member
Get full access to our archive and personalise your experience.
Already a member?
Discussion
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!
No comments yet. Be the first to join the conversation!
Join the Conversation
Sign in to share your thoughts under an alias and take part in the discussion. Independent journalism thrives on open, respectful debate — your voice matters.
