Child helplines urge Irish EU Presidency to secure the future of Europe’s Safer Internet Centres
AMSTERDAM – Child Helpline International (CHI), INHOPE and Insafe, together with 26 organizations from 19 EU Member States and two neighbouring countries, are calling on the Irish Presidency and all EU institutions to help secure the future of Europe’s Safer Internet Centres. For more than two decades, Safer Internet Centres have been an integral part […]
Joint Statement on potential age restrictions for children to access social media
Child rights organizations and experts unite to call on the EU to steer away from social media bans
BRUSSELS – Ahead of the third meeting of the Special Panel advising President Ursula Von Der Leyen on a potential social media ban in the EU, more than 170 child rights organizations and experts across Europe have joined forces to call for a more nuanced and rights-based approach. Since last year, and inspired in part […]
Every Child Deserves Not Only Protection, But Someone to Turn To
Statement from Helen Mason, Executive Director
The recent remarks by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell to the United Nations Security Council are a timely and powerful reminder of the devastating toll that armed conflict continues to take on children around the world. Children do not start wars. Yet they too often suffer their greatest consequences. Whether in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, Myanmar, […]
Joint Statement on the End of EU Legal Basis to Detect CSA
Europe is switching its detection of child sexual abuse online off BRUSSELS – Because of political gridlock, from 3 April 2026, online service providers in the European Union will no longer be able to detect child sexual abuse material on their platforms. A letter signed by over 245 organisations working to advance children’s rights and […]
The Epstein Case and a Pattern of Systemic Failure to Protect Children and Young People
Joint Statement from Child Protection Organizations
What continues to emerge are cycles of sexual violence, abuse, and exploitation, upheld by patriarchal structures that treat women and children as objects. This case has exposed, yet again, a system that prioritises power over justice, and perpetrators over victims. At the heart of this are children and young people who were subjected to exploitation, […]
Statement Calling for Ban of Nudify
Child Helpline International Joins Global Call to Ban Nudifying Tools and Protect Children from Exploitation
Amsterdam, Netherlands – Today, on Safer Internet Day, Child Helpline International stands with over 430 public institutions, civil society organisations, companies and individual signatories globally to demand urgent action against nudifying tools, technology designed to create non-consensual nude and abusive imagery, disproportionately targeting children and women. These tools fuel sexual exploitation, extortion, and harm, yet […]
Letter to the European Commission on Children’s Online Protection
Calling for children’s voices to shape EU digital policy
In December, Child Helpline International, together with our national members Børns Vilkår (Denmark) and BRIS (Sweden), sent a letter to President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission calling for children’s voices to be placed at the centre of EU policymaking on online safety. Drawing on direct insights from millions of contacts to child […]
The Role of Child Helplines in Ending Domestic Violence Against Children in the EU
Position Paper and Child Helpline Data – December 2025 Domestic violence remains one of the most persistent and under-detected forms of violence affecting children across the European Union (EU). This report brings together annual data submitted by child helplines and findings from a dedicated consultation with child helplines from 16 EU Member States. Every year, thousands of children […]
Recommendations for Strengthening EU Action to Protect Children from Violence
Data-Driven Findings to Inform EU Efforts on Prevention, Detection and Support
Violence remains one of the most common reasons why children and young people contact child helplines. Between 2020 and 2024, child helplines across Europe recorded 1.3 million violence-related counselling contacts, including nearly 80,000 bullying-related contacts in 2024 alone. Technology-facilitated child sexual abuse and exploitation (TF-CSEA) is also rising, with 10,107 contacts in 2024, up from […]
Recommendations for the Improvement of Mental Health of children and young people across Europe
Data from European child helplines
Across Europe, mental health is the leading reason why children and young people contact child helplines. Between 2020 and 2024, child helplines received 2.9 million mental-health-related contacts (39% of all counselling contacts), including more than 1 million linked to fear, anxiety or mood problems, and nearly 700,000 involving self-harm or suicidal thoughts. In 2024 alone, […]