site.btaNational Children's Helpline 116 111 Receives over 19,300 Calls since January 2024

The National Children's Helpline 116 111 of the State Agency for Child Protection (SACP) has received over 19,300 calls between January and September 2024, the Agency’s head, Teodora Ivanova, told journalists here on Tuesday.

More than 1,400 reports of violence against children have been registered, and 7,000 children have sought help and assistance. 

SACP Secretary General Kamelia Nikolova said that the number of registered cases of aggression and bullying in educational institutions in 2024 has reached 3,378. There have been 223 registered cases of violence against children, 267 cases of violence against teachers and 232 cases of cyberbullying against children, Nikolova added.  

In 2023, a total of 462 calls for physical and mental abuse were made to the National Childline, 418 of which were about neglect and 43 concerned sexual abuse. The SACP received 503 reports of violence, of which 157 were about physical abuse, 144 about neglect, 115 about mental abuse and 38 about sexual abuse. There were 45 reports to the SACP of the use of inappropriate and degrading methods of education, and four reports of pornographic materials’ distribution.

Most often, violence among children takes place within families, with an increase in the number of cases in foster families and in specialized institutions for children.

The SACP has launched a national campaign combating violence against and among children, titled Be Brave, Be Good, which is expected to change public attitudes in order to prevent all forms of violence.