During the “Palīdzība zvana attālumā” [Help is a call away] campaign organised by the Child Protection Centre (BAC), the majority of calls concerned topics related to mutual violence between parents and violence against children, the centre reports.
The campaign continued until the 13th of October. The goal was to turn society’s attention towards children’s and teens’ mental health problems, as well as the risk of suicide.
Among the callers were children and people who witnessed violence and reported it, as reported by BAC leading expert Simona Saule.
The second most frequently raised topic has been adolescent health problems. For example, a child has informed in a call that he has been experiencing physical symptoms for a long time – nausea, dizziness, palpitations, and he has a feeling that he will die. Callers turned to specialists for advice because the parents replied that it was nothing serious.
Also, several calls asked for advice on how to protect the child from the other parent’s emotional abuse in situations where the parents are in the process of divorce and there is no established order of contact yet.
Children and teenagers who called the centre during the campaign admitted they are afraid to ask their parents for advice because often they are rejected or parents simply do not have the time, BAC reports.
The centre reports having received 250 calls during the campaign. Half of the calls came from children and the other half – from adults.