The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is to introduce a new text-messaging service providing advice for children on a range of issues.
The announcement comes at the same time as the ISPCC released its Childline annual call statistics which showed only one in four of the 731,731 calls received last year were answered.
The text service will provide an automated, immediate response to any child using it. The issues children can text Childline Text 50101about include violence, sexual matters, relationships, loneliness and suicide.
The ISPCC said 80 per cent of children canvassed about the service in schools were in favour of it.
The Childline text service has been established following consultation with young people through schools, other youth organisations and at ISPCC events. The result of this consultation showed 80% of young people were in favour of the establishment of a text service. The
While accepting it was "disappointing" that not all calls to Childline could be answered, the ISPCC said
12 per cent more calls were taken last year than in 2003, while the ratio in the last quarter of last year was one call in three being answered.
There are up to 20 volunteers answering calls to Childline at peak times, which are normally after 6pm and outside school hours.
The most-discussed issues were the facts of life, physical abuse, sexual abuse and pregnancy. The ISPCC said the significant number of call concerning sexuality reflected a
"worrying trend of confusion, lack of information and premature early sexualisation among young people."
The ISPCC added that boredom, isolation and a dearth of leisure facilities were major concerns for young people, often leading to drug and alcohol abuse.
The charity said it was is opposed to the Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) being considered by the Government to tackle the problem of teenage criminality. "Such measures will serve to criminalise children, something which will ultimately cost the State more and further isolate these young people," it warns.
- Childline can be contacted on 1800 666 666