Voices of Children & Young People During Covid-19

Voices

of Children & Young People during Covid-19 Key messages from Burundi, Ethiopia and Malawi

Voices of Children & Young People during Covid-19: Key messages from Burundi, Ethiopia and Malawi Child Helpline International Pilotenstraat 20-22 1059CJ Amsterdam The Netherlands +31(0)20 528 96 25 www.childhelplineinternational.org Contact us at: info@childhelplineinternational.org

Contents Executive Summary

3

VOICES OF CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE DURING COVID-19 Key messages from Burundi, Ethiopia and Malawi

4

Contacts from Children & Young People across the Africa Region 6 BURUNDI: Yaga Ndakumva

8

ETHIOPIA: Adama Child Helpline 14 MALAWI: Tithandizane Helpline 116

20

Written and edited by: Andrea Pereira (PhD), Angharad Wells, Averill Daly, Laura Holliday, Megan Everts, Steve Erwood

CONCLUSION Key messages and key recommendations

26

Data compilation: Andrea Pereira (PhD), Averill Daly

TECHNICAL NOTE Child helpline counselling practices during Covid-19 27

Design and layout: Steve Erwood

Disclaimer Data presented and statements made do not capture the full scope of practices and policies of all countries and cases handled by child helplines and other child protection organisations at the national level. The exact data can be requested from Child Helpline International.

Child Helpline International’s work is firmly grounded in the principles and values enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, including children’s right to privacy and protection from harm. To preserve the trust and confidence children and young people place in child helplines every day, any personal details cited in case summaries has been altered and anonymised.

This publication was funded by Twilio. org. The content of this publication represents only the view of Child Helpline International. Twilio.org does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.

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Voices of Children & Young People during Covid-19

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Every child and young person has the right to be heard, the right to protection and the right to access essential services, free from bias or other barriers.

Child helplines play a crucial role in the promotion and realisation of children’s rights globally. They actively listen to and help children and young people. They prevent violence and other forms of harm against children.

Ultimately, they empower children and young people to help themselves.

This publication is a product of the Voices in Eastern and Southern Africa during Covid-19 (VESAC) project coordinated by Child Helpline International. The project is a 12-month project funded by Twilio.org Impact Fund, which aims to support three child helplines as they respond to increased contacts being made by children and young people during the Covid-19 pandemic: • Burundi - Yaga Ndakumva • Ethiopia - Adama Child Helpline; and • Malawi - Tithandizane Helpline 116.

Every year, we survey our child helpline members around the world to gather information about the contacts they receive. This publication focuses on the compilation and analysis of annual data from 2019 and 2020 for the three child helplines participating in the VESAC project, which is supported by data from four quarterly surveys we constructed in 2020 in order to assess the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. We have also included a contextual overview of all of our child helpline members in the Africa region. The aim of this publication is to present the impact the pandemic is having on children and young people and on child helplines, and to present a series of good practices drafted by child helplines who participated in our Community of Practice on counselling practices during the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the end of this publication, we have listed a series of key advocacy messages and good practices to ensure that these, and other child helplines, can continue to play their vital role within the child protection system. We also present the key recommendations made by each of the three child helplines participating in the VESAC project.

It is our intention that this publication, and the data and good practice it contains, be made available to target audiences including national governments, NGOs and donors, all of whom have the power to unlock further resources and opportunities for child helplines.

Yaga Ndakumva, Burundi The child helpline saw a large increase in the number of counselling contacts received in 2020 compared to 2019 - it received over twice as many counselling contacts in 2020. Over half of these related to concerns about access to various services - a drastic increase compared to 2019, where no contacts were made for this reason. Violence was the second main reason in 2020, having already been the main reason in 2019.

This means, across both years, 1 in every 4 contacts received related to a concern about violence.

Yaga Ndakumva started to experience an impact from Covid-19 in its operations during the first quarter of 2020. The child helpline continued to observe an increase in the numbers of calls and the cases they received throughout the rest of the year.

Adama Child Helpline, Ethiopia In 2020 nearly 4 out of 5 contacts received by this child helpline were related to violence, a higher proportion of overall contacts compared to 2019.

Adama Child Helpline’s operations were impacted

by Covid-19 during the second quarter of 2020. Staff were challenged in working as closely with line sectors as they had been able to before, in terms of providing referral and networking services for children and young people. However, the child helpline’s staff drew from their experiences to continue to improve and maintain their service, and to provide awareness on how to respond during the pandemic.

Tithandizane Helpline 116, Malawi Two-fifths of the contacts received by the child helpline in 2020 were about accessibility to various services, which was similar to 2019. However, the second reason for making contact in 2020 was violence, which indicates a significant increase in contacts from the previous year.

Tithandizane Helpline 116 began to see an impact by Covid-19 on its operations in the second quarter of 2020. The child helpline remained operational 24/7 and was able to continue providing its services by employing a number of strategies. Most importantly, Tithandizane Helpline 116 managed not to let itself become overwhelmed by the situation, compared with the many other organisations in the country which reduced capacity during this time.

Key Messages from Burundi, Ethiopia and Malawi

3

VOICES OF CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE DURING COVID-19 Key Messages from Burundi, Ethiopia and Malawi Child Helpline International

Project

Child Helpline International is a collective impact organisation bringing together 167 members in 140 countries and territories around the world (as of June 2021) to advance a common agenda – to strengthen child protection systems and amplify the voices of children at the national, regional and global levels.

The Voices in Eastern and Southern Africa during Covid-19 (VESAC) project is a 12-month project funded

by Twilio.org Impact Fund, which aims to support three child helplines as they respond to increased contacts being made by children and young people during the Covid-19 pandemic. There are various activities involved in this project, including a baseline study; recruitment of three new staff/volunteers, sourcing of three new remote counselling kits (headsets and laptops), and development of one web chat solution or each of these three child helplines; hosting two Communities of Practice focussing on counselling; development of two eLearning modules focussing on counselling; one data publication (this present publication) and technical note (also included herein); and one endline study.

Since our foundation in 2003, Child Helpline International has advocated for the rights of children and young people around the world. We have supported the creation and strengthening of child helplines and enhanced their recognition as an essential part of child protection systems.

Today, we coordinate information, viewpoints, knowledge and data that aids profound change in child protection systems. This allows us to advocate, influence and change attitudes, and transform policies and practices on national, regional and global levels.

Child helplines Every year, our child helpline members around the world field more than 13 million individual cries for help.

Child helplines play a crucial role in protecting children.

They actively listen to and help children and young people. They prevent violence and other forms of harm against children. Ultimately, they empower children to help themselves. Child helplines also stand as crucial players in system transformation, whether they are in countries where child protection systems are weak or non-existent, or in countries where those systems are stronger and more sophisticated.

“Recruitment of volunteers and counsellors has been very useful, as it has allowed us to pick up more incoming calls and to provide counselling, advice and referral services to more children in need of care and protection...”

“The VESAC project has contributed towards us being able to scale-up — both in terms of technology, and also to ensure as many children in the country as possible have access to the service.”

“Remote counselling kits have enabled staff to take on more work than they could otherwise have managed, from case management and data management to handling general child helpline duties.

In addition, the eLearning modules will enhance the quality of our counselling services.”

VESAC Project: Who’s involved?

4

Burundi

Yaga Ndakumva

Ministere des Droits de la Personne Humaine, des Affaires Sociales et du Genre

Ethiopia

Adama Child Helpline

Enhancing Child-Focused Activities (ECFA)

Malawi

Tithandizane Helpline 116

Youth Net & Counselling (YONECO)

Voices of Children & Young People during Covid-19

This publication

Methodology

This publication focuses on the compilation and analysis of annual data from 2019 and 2020, supported by the four quarterly surveys in 2020 for three of our child helpline members in Eastern and Southern Africa: Yaga Ndakumva (Burundi), Adama Child Helpline (Ethiopia) and Tithandizane Helpline 116 (Malawi). We have also included a contextual overview of all of our child helpline members in the Africa region who provided data, presenting the number of contacts received by all of them in each category of contact across 2020. We obtained data from 20 of our child helpline members across 19 countries in the Africa region (Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, eSwatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe).

In order to understand the issues faced by the children and young people who get in touch with child helplines, we gather information every year from our child helplines members around the world about the number and types of contacts they receive. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, we also constructed four additional quarterly surveys covering the whole year of 2020 (January to December) to assess the impact the pandemic is having on children and young people, and also on the child helplines themselves.

In these dedicated surveys we asked our child helpline members to provide monthly numbers of contacts, and quarterly information about the contacts and about the child helpline’s operations.

Children’s Rights and Child Helpline Data Child helplines around the world support millions of children every year. They respond to issues ranging from serious violations of children’s rights to children who just want someone to chat to on the way back from school. Child helplines provide an easily accessible and confidential system that enables children to tell a counsellor what is going on in their lives. In this way, child helplines acquire a unique insight into the direct experiences of children and young people on a larger scale than any other organisations.

The value of child helplines’ data on the contacts they receive from children and young people cannot be overstated in informing and guiding policy, learning and practice. The role child helplines play in protecting children and promoting their rights is adapted to the needs of each child or young person. Child helplines work with a range of national partners and referral agencies to ensure that children and young people receive the support they need to thrive. In this position, child helplines have oversight of where services are missing or failing children and young people. Child helplines have unique insight into the gap between policy and reality, making them key actors in advocating for children’s rights.

We have worked closely with our child helpline members to create a common categorisation for these contacts, which comprises ten broad issues or reasons for making contact with a child helpline, as well as nine types of contextual information. All of these categories are further sub-divided. It should be noted, however, that the content and level of detail of information recorded is the prerogative of each individual child helpline and is not directed by Child Helpline International – therefore, the categories used in this publication might differ from the categories used by some child helplines when they originally collected their data. It should also be noted that child helplines have differing practices relating to how they record information, and while some indicate the reason given by the child or young person for calling, others indicate the reason identified by the counsellor. Finally, it should be noted that while an absence of contacts in any category might mean that the child helpline did not receive any contacts pertaining to that category, it could also be the case that it did not collect this information specifically, as not all child helplines report on every reason at the category and subcategory levels.

Key Messages from Burundi, Ethiopia and Malawi

5

THE NUMBERS Contacts from Children and Young People across the Africa Region Total number of annual contacts for 2020 Our child helpline members in the Africa region had a total number of 3,304,651 contacts in 2020. This includes both counselling contacts and non-counselling contacts.

What is a non-counselling contact?

Non-counselling contacts can include both silent calls, and abusive or prank calls, questions or complaints about the child helpline or other services, or even someone simply calling to say “thank you” for previous help, advice or assistance.

682,953 Non-counselling contacts

Counselling contacts

2,621,698

What is a counselling contact?

A counselling contact is one in which the child helpline was able to provide assistance to the caller, either by listening to, advising and/or otherwise supporting the caller.

Actions taken by child helplines Child helplines do more than take calls and talk to children and young people, child helplines engage in different actions to help children and young people that reach out to them. The actions taken by the child helplines are steps taken outside of the contact in order to provide more support.

6

Voices of Children & Young People during Covid-19

Main 5 actions taken by our African child helpline members in 2020

%

1. Referrals to child protection agencies

31.4%

2. Direct interventions by the child helpline

25.5%

3. Referrals to general healthcare

16.2%

4. Referrals to law enforcement agencies

14.9%

5. Recommendations of resources

5.6%

e

r 5 n

i a M

s

n o s a

t c a nt

o

c r o f

Physical health 95,673 (20.3%)

Violence 176,814 (37.4%)

Mental health 74,410 (15.8%) Access to services 38,992 (8.3%)

Family relationships 39,383 (8.3%) All other reasons 46,352 (9.9%)

Did you know...?

Reserving a pan-Africa national range number for harmonised child helplines in Africa is an important tool in responding to children and young people and will enhance cross border collaboration and efforts to tackle violence against children.

At present, the 116 toll-free number is being used by 23 countries in Africa.

 116 Key Messages from Burundi, Ethiopia and Malawi

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BURUNDI Yaga Ndakumva The child helpline

The impact of Covid-19

Yaga Ndakumva helps children and young people by providing services in three main areas: online support, referral, and direct intervention.

Yaga Ndakumva started to experience an impact from Covid-19 in its operations during the first quarter of 2020.

The child helpline continued to observe an increase in the numbers of calls and the cases they received throughout the rest of the year.

It has been a member of Child Helpline International since 2013:

“There are too many cases! Our capacity to receive them has been weakened. There are even some child protection cases which we cannot manage at all because of the increase in calls.”

“There are many advantages in being a member of Child Helpline International. We have access to knowledge and the sharing of experiences, and support in capacity building. It also means that we can participate in regional and international meetings with other child helpline operators.”

As a result of the pandemic’s effects, Yaga Ndakumva’s operations were strained and overloaded due to the high number of calls, which caused further issues to arise.

“The amount of staff became insufficient to manage all of the cases ... we need more working hours.

Already, staff are continually required to work beyond their scheduled hours.”

On top of the challenges faced by staff, the child helpline’s systems were overloaded due to the increased volume of calls. This resulted in children and young people experiencing difficulties when contacting the child helpline.

“The two main rea so people h ave been ns children and y oung r issues a round ac eaching out to u c s ess to v and conc are ar erns abo ut violenc ious services, e.

To impro ve their access to recomme nd mob services, ilising p commun we a r tn ity around ers and o u us with th th r child help e means line to pro e for direct v id e interventi ons.

With resp ect to viole nce - and preventin identifyin g it - we g it and r ecomme the capa nd streng city of o th ur child raise mo helpline’s ening re aware staff to ness in th e commu nity.”

kumva Yaga N+d11a6

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Voices of Children & Young People during Covid-19

THE VOICES Children and young people “My friend’s father had Covid-19, and now I’ve started to feel ill...”

A 14-year-old boy contacted the helpline in tears, believing he had Covid-19. His friend’s father had recently died and people in his community were saying that it was because of the coronavirus.

The boy had been in close contact with his friend, and two weeks after the death of his friend's father, the boy had developed a cough and was running a fever. He contacted the child helpline to share his anxiety.

The child helpline counsellor listened to him attentively and was able to calm him down and reassure him a little.

He was advised to consult a medical practitioner at his nearest health centre, and in the meantime to respect the various measures he could take against contracting or spreading Covid-19.

He followed the child helpline’s advice, and he was later relieved to discover that he had only had a flu.

“My family are shunning me, because I only have my mother to take care of me now...”

A 15-year-old boy called the child helpline to let them know about the fear and stigma he was facing from his family members because his father had died of Covid-19 and only his mother was now left to take care of him.

The child helpline counsellor took time to listen to the boy and to reassure him. After this initial contact a meeting with the family members was held to discuss the boy's future and to help the family become more informed about Covid-19.

As a result of the child helpline’s intervention, the boy was greatly reassured and became closer with his family.

Key Messages from Burundi, Ethiopia and Malawi

9

THE NUMBERS Contacts from Children and Young People in Burundi Total number of contacts for 2019 & 2020 Yaga Ndakumva saw a large increase in the number of counselling contacts received in 2020 compared to 2019 - it received over twice as many counselling contacts in 2020. (This increase was also visible in the number of non-counselling contacts it received.)

129.8%

5,000

12,000

4,000

10,721

10,000

3,000 95.6%

8,000 6,000 4,000

5,480

4,707

2,000 0

2,000 1,000

2,048 2019

2020

Non-counselling contacts

2019

0

2020

Counselling contacts

15,000 12,000 Actions taken by Yaga Ndakumva in 2020 (compared to 2019) 1. Direct interventions by the child helpline

9,000

2. Referrals to child protection agencies 3. Recommendations of resources =4. Referrals to general healthcare professionals

6,000

=4. Referrals to other organisations 6. Referrals to law enforcement agencies 7. Referrals to mental health services

3,000

8. Reports to Child Sexual Abuse Material 9. Referrals to school counsellors All other actions

0

2019 2020 contacts contacts

Change

23%

45%

X

7%

13%

X

6%

10%

X

38%

9%

X

19%

9%

X

3%

4%

X

N/A

3%

X

0%

2%

X

4%

0%

X

0%

6%

X

The most significant change from 2019 to 2020 was that the number of direct interventions by the child helpline doubled, as there was a drop in referrals to external organisations including health care professionals.

10 Voices of Children & Young People during Covid-19

2020: Method of contact

2020: Living situation

The largest portion of contacts received by Yaga Ndakumva was via the telephone (74%).

The children and young people who contacted Yaga Ndakumva in 2020 live in a range of situations. Nearly 1 in 4 children or young people who contacted Yaga Ndakumva were living independently.

0



20

20%



Outreach 40 918

60

40

60

80

100

120

74%

7%

Telephone 3,471

Walk-ins 100 318

80

14% 120

16% 11%

18% 23%

15% 3%

Alternative care (747)

Living independently (1,071)

Group residential facility (537)

With parent(s) (843)

Homeless or marginally housed (718)

With relatives (652)

In detention (139)

2020: Age Yaga Ndakumva recorded the ages of the children and young people who made contact in 2020. Most contacts were by young people aged 16 to 17 years old, followed by those aged 18 to 24 years old.

2020: Gender Girls accounted for almost two-thirds (62%) of the counselling contacts received by Yaga Ndakumva.

This means that girls contacted the child helpline almost twice as often as boys.

Boys 38%

Age 0-3 4-6 7-9 10-12 13-15

0.9% 2.6% 6.4% 8.3% 17.4% 26.9%

16-17

Girls 62%

18-24 25+

19% 18.6%

Contacts concerning children aged below 3 years old and contacts aged 25+ are from adults concerned about, or calling on behalf of, a child or young person.

Key Messages from Burundi, Ethiopia and Malawi

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THE NUMBERS: ZOOM-IN Contacts from Children and Young People in Burundi

Education & Occupation 13%

Family relationships 10% Physical health 9%

All other reasons 21%

Violence 25%

Missing children 22%

Main

5 in 2

019

Main reasons for contact Over half of the contacts received in 2020 related to concerns about access to various services - a drastic increase compared to 2019, where no contacts were made for this reason. Violence was the second main reason in 2020, having already been the main reason in 2019. This means, across both years, 1 in every 4 contacts received related to a concern about violence.

Main

5 in 2

020

Access to services 54%

Physical health 4%

Missing children 6%

All other reasons 5%

Violence 28%

Peer relationships 3% 12 Voices of Children & Young People during Covid-19

Why children and young people contacted Yaga Ndakumva

Zoom-in: Access to services in 2020 Socio-economical services Essential needs Sexual health services Legal services and advice General healthcare services Mental health services Education

39% 21% 16% 12% 7% 5% 1%

Zoom-in: Violence in 2020 Child labour 41% Neglect (or negligent treatment) 18% Physical violence 14% Sexual violence 6% Mental / emotional violence 6% Commercial / sexual exploitation 4% Online sexual exploitation 3% Gender-based harmful traditional 3% practices (other than FGM) Harmful traditional practices other than child marriage and 2% FGM Bullying 1% Child / early / forced marriage 1%

Key Messages from Burundi, Ethiopia and Malawi

13

ETHIOPIA Adama Child Helpline The child helpline

The impact of Covid-19

Operated by ECFA (Enhancing Child-Focused Activities), the child helpline is a vital service available to any child or young person in need of help. Children and young people, or others on their behalf, can call to access advice, information and support with problems they are facing both online and in person. The organisation uses a toll-free (free for caller) three-digit “919” telephone line to receive calls from mistreated children, as well as families and community members who either need to report incidents of exploitation anonymously or are seeking caring services.

In Ethiopia, Adama Child Helpline’s operations were impacted by Covid-19 during the second quarter of 2020. Staff were challenged in working as closely with line sectors as they had been able to before, in terms of providing referral and networking services for children and young people.

ECFA receives financial support from Plan International Ethiopia, and through working closely with Adama Women and Children’s Affairs Office it has been able to scale up its call center to become a more advanced service provision center. It offers online and in-person counselling, referral services, and provides information and other services based on the situation of the child. The child helpline is operational from 8am in the morning to 6pm Monday to Saturday, and can be contacted in a number of ways.

Adama Child Helpline has been a member of Child Helpline International since 2007: “There are many benefits from being a member of this network. For example, it played a role in building up the capacity of our staff. It also provides us the opportunity to share our experiences with other child helplines, in Africa and all around the world.”

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14 Voices of Children & Young People during Covid-19

“It has been difficult to get hold of experts and to facilitate psychological support. As a result we’ve consulted closley with a task force that was established at city level to support child protection and other organisations working during the Covid-19 period.”

This is highlighted as an important and required action by Adama as the nature of child helpline’s service demands collaboration and referrals.

As an internal response to Covid-19, Adama established a Covid-19 prevention and monitoring taskforce, with the hope to mitigate potential issues.

“The task force has been working with the programme and child helpline staff on how to operate during this period. Teams suggested different workable strategies drawn from WHO and health experts.”

Looking back on 2020, Adama’s service was moderately impacted. During some points of the year the increasing number of cases had made it difficult to respond.

However, the child helpline’s staff were drawing from these experiences to continue to improve by designing new approaches to maintain their service as usual, and to provide awareness on how to respond during the pandemic.

THE VOICES Children and young people “I have to stay at home, so I can’t go out and earn any money. ...”

Many callers who contacted Adama Child Helpline during the Covid-19 pandemic reported that they had been working and earning their income in the service industry, for example as waitresses, cafeteria workers or other mostly low-salaried jobs. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, and the subsequent response to it, many had now lost their as a result.

Most found it challenging to adapt to their situation, and some had also experienced domestic abuse during this period.

“Our counsellors need training to build their capacity, and to be equipped with current technologies an d updated co unselling practices. They should be also exposed to the various so ft skills that will help them interact with ch ildren and youn g people easily. We belie ve that our coun sellors can gain experience through learning and sharing with other like-m inded organisatio ns.

Therefore, we recommend th at child helplines cooper ate and work cl osely work with all relevant sectors, since ou r response — especially at times of emerge ncy, such as the current C ovid-19 pandem ic — needs coordination and strong collaboratio n.”

Key Messages from Burundi, Ethiopia and Malawi

15

THE NUMBERS Contacts from Children and Young People in Ethiopia Total number of contacts for 2019 & 2020 Across 2019 and 2020, the number of counselling contacts received by Adama Child Helpline remained constant. At the same time, the number of non-counselling contacts decreased.

4,000

4,114

3,000

-23.9%

5,000

3,132

0.7%

2,000 1,000 0

2019

2020

Non-counselling contacts

145

146

2019

2020

Counselling contacts

Actions taken by Adama Child Helpline in 2020 (compared to 2019)

2019 2020 contacts contacts

Change

1. Recommendations of resources

17%

40%

X

2. Referrals to child protection agencies

43%

36%

X

3. Direct interventions by the child helpline

9%

18%

X

4. Referrals to general healthcare professionals

0%

6%

X

Referrals to school counsellors

12%

0%

X

Referrals to other organisations

11%

0%

X

Referrals to law enforcement agencies

9%

0%

X

Across 2019 and 2020, the two main actions taken by Adama Child Helpline were making referrals to child protection agencies and recommending resources. A noticeable change in 2020 was the number of direct interventions by the child helpline, which doubled, while there was a drop in referrals made to various external organisations. This decrease in referrals to external organisations is linked to the impact that Covid-19 has had on those other services, in some cases where other organisation and agencies have had reduced capacity (for example, as a result of working from home).

16 Voices of Children & Young People during Covid-19

2020: Method of contact

2020: Living situation

The largest portion of contacts received by Adama Child Helpline was via the telephone (76%).

The majority children and young people who contacted the child helpline were either living with parents or guardians, or were homeless or marginally housed. In addition, some contacts from were from children and young people living with relatives.

0

20

40



60

80

76%

24%

Telephone 112 40

60

100

17%

Walk-ins 35 80

40%

100

43%

Homeless or marginally housed (25) With parent(s) (27) With relatives (11)

2020: Age Adama Child Helpline recorded the ages of the children and young people who contacted the child helpline in 2020. Most contacts came from young people aged 13 to 15 years old.

2020: Gender In 2020 boys accounted for 72% of the counselling contacts received by Adama Child Helpline. This means that boys reached out to the child helpline nearly three times more often than girls.

Girls 28%

Age 7%

0-3 4-6 7-9

3% 2% 14%

10-12

36%

13-15 23%

16-17

Boys 72%

18-24 25+

8% 6%

Contacts concerning children aged below 3 years old and contacts aged 25+ are from adults concerned about, or calling on behalf of, a child or young person.

Key Messages from Burundi, Ethiopia and Malawi

17

THE NUMBERS: ZOOM-IN Contacts from Children and Young People in Ethiopia

Access to services 18%

Discrimination and exclusion 18%

All other reasons 8%

Family relationships 18%

Violence 18%

Mental health 18%

Ma

in

Main reasons for contact

5i

n2

In 2020 nearly 4 out of 5 contacts were related to violence. It is difficult to identify the main reasons for contact in 2019, as the same number of contacts related to multiple categories.

However, it appears that Adama received a largely higher proportion of violence-related contacts in 2020 compared to 2019.

Main

5 in 2

020

Violence 88% Access to services 11% Peer relationships 2%

18 Voices of Children & Young People during Covid-19

01

9

Why children and young people contacted Adama Child Helpline

Zoom-in: Violence in 2020 Physical violence Child labour Sexual violence Mental / emotional violence

46% 33% 11% 10%

Key Messages from Burundi, Ethiopia and Malawi

19

MALAWI Tithandizane Helpline 116 The child helpline

The impact of Covid-19

Tithandizane National Helpline Services is a national multichannel service provider which aims to mitigate, prevent and respond to issues of child protection in Malawi. Some key channels for service provision include a 24/7 toll-free line on all mobile operators, a face-to-face counselling centre and three places offering a “safe space” in each region of Malawi.

Tithandizane Helpline 116 began to see an impact by Covid-19 on its operations in the second quarter of 2020.

The child helpline offers an online directory of service providers, web chat for counselling, and a mobile application and SMS channels for child protection and message dissemination. The child helpline also leverages platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Key stakeholders in its case management include the Ministry of Gender, Community Development & Social Welfare, District Councils under the Ministry of Homeland Security, the Malawi Police, and the Judiciary.

Tithandizane Helpline International in 2006:

116

joined

Child

Helpline

“Among the various advantages of being a member of Child Helpline International is the eminent collaboration and learning among various members of the network about the protection of children.

For example, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, Child Helpline International’s VESAC Project is helping to enhance service provision in three child helplines in the Eastern and Southern Africa region, including Tithandizane National Helpline. This has been done through activities such as building capacity in counselling through e-learning modules, supplementing child helpline infrastructure through counselling kits and also a drive to enhance child helpline service channels through web chat.”

“At this time, we saw a surge in the number of calls coming in. This was the period when Covid-19 was really gaining ground in Malawi. We were tested for our preparedness in responding to Covid-19, and we were better able to manage the pandemic’s impacts by adopting multiple strategies and applying multiple solutions to the challenges that presented themselves.”

The child helpline remained operational 24/7 and was able to provide its services by employing a number of strategies, including increasing the number of shifts and reducing the number of counsellors on each shift to conform with government guidelines. It also used radio jingles and programmes to raise awareness of the child helpline service, used interactive messaging through SMS to reach out and support clients, and used IVR (Interactive Voice Response) for pre-recorded messages.

“We emerged as a virtual hub for information provision on Covid-19, at the same time as continuing to support victims of abuse and violence. We provided an ear for survivors of abuse and reached out to support with counselling and provision of referrals where necessary to victims of abuse.”

Tithandizane Helpline 116 managed not to let itself become overwhelmed by the situation, compared with the many other organisations in the country which reduced capacity during this time.

line p l e H e n a ndiz

Titha

+116 .org helpline e n a iz d tithan

http://

20 Voices of Children & Young People during Covid-19

116

THE VOICES Children and young people

“People have arrived here who haven’t been tested for Covid-19, and I’m not sure who else to turn to for help about this...”

“In 2020, we have experien looking fo ced more r access ca to servic care and e, post-v llers with issue iolence s related occupatio to educati n. on and We reco mmend conductin collection g furthe and ana r data lysis on better un these ar derstand e whether facing sti young pe as to gma or o p le are d iscrimina seek to a tion whe ccess se n they rvices on their own .

This info rmation should b or share e used to findings report with thos stakehold e benefi ers, and c ia p rie a more res rtners wh ources to o can pro s, support o vide ur work.”

Somebody called the child helpline to report that people had just arrived from a neighbouring country, which had been heavily impacted by Covid-19. The new arrivals did not undergo any sort of testing for Covid-19 when entering the country. Unsure as to who else to turn to, the caller had contacted the child helpline for assistance.

The child helpline staff urged the caller to report their concerns to a health surveillance assistance organisation so that healthcare workers could carry out tests for the newcomers.

Key Messages from Burundi, Ethiopia and Malawi

21

5,000 4,000

THE NUMBERS 3,000 Contacts from Children and Young People in Malawi 2,000 Total number of contacts for 2019 & 2020

1,000

In 2020, the number of counselling contacts received by Tithandizane Helpline 116, our child helpline member in Malawi, slightly increased by 13.6% compared 0 to 2019. The number of non-counselling contacts remained relatively constant across 2019 and 2020.

13.6%

15,000

12,890

12,000

11,350

9,000

1.2%

6,000 3,000 0

1,695

1,715

2019

2020

Non-counselling contacts

2019

2020

Counselling contacts

Actions taken by Tithandizane Helpline 116 in 2019 and 2020

2019 2020 contacts contacts

Change

1. Direct interventions by the child helpline

30%

44%

X

2. “Other”

0%

42%

X

3. Referrals to law enforcement agencies

21%

11%

X

4. Referrals to general healthcare professionals

5%

2%

X

5. Referrals to school counsellors

6%

1%

X

Recommendation of resources

38%

0%

X

Referrals to child protection agencies

1%

0%

X

The most significant changes from 2019 to 2020 were that the number of direct interventions by the child helpline increased by almost half, and actions taken that were described as “Other” — which had not featured in 2019’s statistics — accounted for just over two-thirds of the reasons for making contact. These two actions together accounted for nearly 9 in 10 of all actions taken by Tithandizane Helpline 911 in 2020, with all other actions showing marked decreases.

22 Voices of Children & Young People during Covid-19

2020: Method of contact Almost all of the contacts received by Tithandizane Helpline 116 were via the telephone (99%). Only a limited amount of contacts were walk-ins / in person (1%).

0

0 20



20 40

40 60

60 80

80100

99%

100

1%

Telephone 13,162

Walk-ins 98

2020: Age Most contacts came from young people aged 18-24 years old, followed by those aged 25 years and older (these are contacts from adults who are concerned about a child or young person). These two groups of young people account for over half the contacts received by Tithandizane Helpline 116.

Age 0-3

0.1%

4-6

0.1%

7-9

0.2%

10-12 13-15

2020: Gender

16-17

Boys accounted for 82% of the counselling contacts received by Tithandizane Helpline 116. Girls only accounted for 18% of the counselling contacts, meaning that boys contacted the child helpline four times more often than girls.

18-24 25+

4.5% 18.1% 15.8% 33% 28.1%

Contacts concerning children aged below 3 years old and contacts aged 25+ are from adults concerned about, or calling on behalf of, a child or young person.

Girls 18%

20

40

60

80

Boys 82%

100

The gender of 0.03% of the contacts was not known.

Key Messages from Burundi, Ethiopia and Malawi

23

THE NUMBERS: ZOOM-IN Contacts from Children and Young People in Malawi

All other reasons 2%

Education & Occupation 2%

Violence 11%

Access to services 46%

Mental health 34%

Peer relationships 5%

Main

5 in 2

Main reasons for contact

019

Two-fifths of the contacts received by Tithandizane Helpline 116 in 2020 were about accessibility to various services, which was similar to 2019. However, the second reason for making contact in 2020 was violence, which indicates a significant increase in contacts from the previous year. Another notable change was the reduced number of contacts relating to mental health, where it decreased from 34% of all counselling contacts in 2019 to only 9% in 2020.

Main

5 in 2

020

Education & Occupation 10%

All other reasons 4%

Violence 33%

Access to services 40%

Physical health 9% 24 Voices of Children & Young People during Covid-19

Sexuality 4%

Why children and young people contacted Tithandizane

Zoom-in: Access to services in 2020 Legal services and advice Education Essential needs Sexual health services General healthcare services

80% 16% 2% 2% 0.05%

Zoom-in: Violence in 2020 Child / early / forced marriage 53.4% Sexual violence 23.3% Mental / emotional violence 8.9% Physical violence 6% Neglect (or negligent treatment) 3.7% Child labour 2.4% Bullying 1.6% Commercial / sexual exploitation 0.4% Harmful traditional practices other than child marriage and 0.1% FGM Gender-based harmful traditional practices other than 0.1% FGM There were also a small number of contacts concerning online sexual abuse and online sexual exploitation.

Key Messages from Burundi, Ethiopia and Malawi

25

CONCLUSION Key messages and key recommendations Our Key Messages ● Every child should have free and unrestricted access to child helpline services, including particularly vulnerable children Child helplines should be accessible to all children and young people. Governments and the ICT sector have a role to play to ensure that they are. The Covid-19 pandemic has particularly highlighted the need for child friendly, remotely accessible services. ● Structured partnerships and referral pathways are needed to eradicate violence against all children Child helplines have a crucial role to play in ensuring children’s safety as they are frequently the first point of contact for children and young people facing violence.

This is likely to be even more the case during the current Covid-19 pandemic and other emergencies.

Once that first contact has been established, children and young people in need of protection should be effectively referred to relevant services. Structured partnerships are needed to establish clear referral pathways and interventions to protect children, and ensure that they inform prevention and violence responses, including in times of emergency. ● Quality and sustainability of child helplines is crucial to ensuring children’s rights.

Long-term funding for child helplines is essential to ensure sustainability of their operations and the consistent improvement of the quality of services offered. Governments should thus provide long-term funding to facilitate high-quality and sustainable child helplines. Telecoms and the ICT industry should waive costs where possible. ● Child helpline data and youth participation should inform policy and decision-making that affects children’s lives.

Children and young people’s voices should not only play a role in shaping child helpline services but should inform decision-making at the highest levels.

Governments, INGOs and other children’s rights and child protection actors should promote strong research activities and effective child and youth participation practices to ensure that services and policies affecting young people are relevant to their lives and uphold their best interests as enshrined in the UNCRC.

26 Voices of Children & Young People during Covid-19

“The two main rea young pe sons ch ople hav e been re ildren and us are is ac sues aro und acce hing out to services, s s to vario and conc u erns abo ut violenc s To impro e. ve their a ccess to mobilisin services, g p we recom child help artners and the mend co line to pro vide us w mmunity around interventi our ith the m ons. eans for direct With res pect to violence preventin — and id g it — w entifying e recom capacity it and mend str of our c engthenin hild help awarene g the li n ss in the e’s staff commun to raise ity.” more

build need training to “Our counsellors uipped and to be eq their capacity, dated nologies and up with current tech ld be tices. They shou counselling prac that will help rious soft skills va e th to d se ople easily. also expo n and young pe re ild ch ith w ct ra experience them inte sellors can gain un co r ou at th e-minded We believe ing with other lik ar sh d an ng ni ar through le organisations. helplines end that child m m co re e w all relevant Therefore, osely work with cl k or w d an e ly at times of cooperat onse — especial sp re r ou e nc si pandemic — sectors, current Covid-19 e th as ch su y, emergenc boration.” n and strong colla needs coordinatio

“In 2020 , we ha ve expe callers lo rienced oking for more a ccess to violence service, p care and ostwit education and occu h issues related to pation.

We recom mend con ducting fu analysis on these rther data areas to collection young p better un and eople are derstand facing sti when the whether y seek to gma or access s discrimin ervices o ation n their ow This info n . rmation s ho findings with thos uld be used to re e benefic port or s partners iari hare who can provide m es, stakeholders our work , o an .” re resourc es to sup d port

TECHNICAL NOTE Child helpline counselling practices during Covid-19 Background From 1-4 April 2021, Child Helpline International hosted two Communities of Practice among its child helpline members on the topic of counselling skills, and more specifically during the context of Covid-19.

Suggested good practices:

What is a Community of Practice?

A Community of Practice is a participant-led discussion during which experts in their field come together to explore issues and solutions around a common interest or concern.

- -

Sharing issues and good practices Participants highlighted some important issues surrounding counselling skills and discussed solutions adopted by their child helplines.

Ability of child helpline to coordinate multiple partners During emergency situations, such as the current Covid-19 pandemic, some social services might be closed, or may have reduced their working hours or their face-to-face accessibility. In order to serve the best interest of the child it is helpful to be able to coordinate action with multiple child protection and community actors.

Key issues Ability to reach all children Giving children and young people access to a child helpline and the services it offers can always be a challenge, but this has been particularly exacerbated by Covid-19. The pandemic has kept many children away from schools, which are central outreach points. Some child helplines mentioned that they used to be able to visit schools and distribute flyers.

Suggested good practices: - - - - -

Working with youth volunteers who can raise awareness about the child helpline through various means, such as social media platforms and word of mouth.

Delivering posters to markets or other accessible public spaces.

Using radio stations to raise awareness and provide information on child protection.

Installing phone booths in schools (or any other spaces accessible by children).

Coordinating with multiple community actors, in order to be able to reach child protection workers across the country.

Ability for children to speak freely Children might be living in a country that has enacted a lockdown, and subsequently find themselves without any private space.

They might not want to discuss certain topics if they feel there is a risk of being overheard, or they might be afraid if they are living with abusive adults.

- -

The use of chat applications as well as chat applications that enable immediate erasure of messages (such as telegram).

Using platforms that children and young people are familiar with such as Instagram or Facebook.

Offering counselling through postal services.

Asking “yes” and “no” questions when it is suspected that somebody else may be listening to the child or young person, and affecting what they might otherwise be able to say.

Suggested good practices: -

- - -

For countries who are not subject to a fully or partially anonymised case management system, having a detailed database that captures age, location, and other factors relating to a contact is a valuable tool that can inform the work of partners.

Clear case management guidelines allow counsellors to connect the child with the right partner.

Trainings with external actors on issues of child protection such as law enforcement or police forces.

The use of “case conferences”, platforms upon which various actors discuss case studies together, evaluating the needs of the child and the role of each actor.

Other resources that you may be interested in: •

The Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, “Technical Note on the Protection of Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic”

•

The Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, Child Helpline International, CP AoR, UNICEF, “Annex to the Technical Note: Child Helplines and the Protection of Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic”

•

Child Helpline International, “Call for Action: Child Helpline Services and the COVID-19 Outbreak”

Key Messages from Burundi, Ethiopia and Malawi

27

Every child has a voice.

No child should be left unheard.

Child Helpline International is a collective impact organisation with 167 members in 140 countries and territories around the world (as of June 2021).

We coordinate information, viewpoints, knowledge and data from our child helpline members, partners and external sources. This exceptional resource is used to help and support child protection systems globally, regionally and nationally, and to help our members advocate for the rights of children and amplify their voices.

Child Helpline International Pilotenstraat 20-22 1059CJ Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 (0)20 528 9625 www.childhelplineinternational.org