Children make 26 calls a week to Childline about sexual abuse
Childline, which is part of the ISPCC, is a free service for children which is open all day and every day. It has launched a national Christmas appeal.
Children's charity Childline has released "horrifying statistics" that show it is receiving 26 calls a week from children in relation to sexual abuse.
The charity, which is part of the ISPCC, released the statistics as it launched a national Christmas appeal.
According to Childline, they receive 26 contacts from children and young people in relation to child sexual abuse on a weekly basis and so far this year have received 169 contacts about incest.
Data published earlier in 2023 from the Central Statistics Office showed that 41% of people aged between 18-24 have experienced sexual violence as a child — with 83% of them knowing the perpetrator.
Childline receives 120,000 contacts each year, of which almost one quarter are classified “level 4” — the most concerning.
On one occasion this year, a Childline volunteer heard from a nine-year-old girl about a "monster who came to her bedroom at night". The girl was found to be being sexually abused by a member of her family.
The charity explained: "The monster was in her home. He should have been one of the most trusted people in her life. Instead, he was a monster who terrified and abused her."
ISPCC director of fundraising Mairead McGinn noted how the charity relies "heavily" on public funding to keep their services open 24 hours a day. It costs around €5.8m to fund the ISPCC/Childline each year.
Ms McGinn said: "We depend on donations for up to 75% of the funding which keeps us listening 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days of the year.
"Every donation, no matter how small, makes a real difference and helps to ensure that we always provide a listening ear and support to those who need it.”
The head of policy and public affairs at the ISPCC, Fiona Jennings, added: "At ISPCC, we know how important technology is as a means of combatting child sexual abuse. We are delighted to be involved in the GroSafe research project with TU Dublin, the aim of which is to develop a technology-enabled solution to build societal resilience to child grooming,
"We are also working with TU Dublin in an End Violence Against Children funded research project to develop a tool that reveals the patterns of adults perpetrating online child sexual abuse and the children who are affected by such violence."
Childline's Christmas appeal can be accessed here.
