Sallyanne Clarke
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THE number of sexual offences against children in the North is at a ten-year high, which prompted Esther Rantzen to fly in last week and call on parents everywhere to be more vigilant in relation to their children’s access to social media.
The ChildLine founder was in Belfast to celebrate the charity’s 30th birthday. Now run by the NSPCC, this charity has helped more children in the North to come forward and speak out about abuse. Referring to her own experience of being molested by a male relative as a teenager, veteran campaigner Esther, 75, stressed the need for young people to continue to seek help.
‘It is natural to feel angry, but remember it is not your fault,’ she said. ‘Talk it through and change things. Don’t turn anger on yourself as it can lead to depression which in turn may lead to suicide. In many cases the social network is a factor. The increase in sexting, cyberbullying and grooming has created new dangers we should all be aware of.’ Esther also said that she has met so many adults who, as a result of their contact with ChildLine when they were younger, have gone on to help save other children instead of going on a downward spiral themselves.
Referrals from ChildLine to the statutory agencies in the North have almost doubled in the last year alone. There has been an increase of almost 50 per cent in reported sexual offences against children in the past five years. Esther set up ChildLine in 1986 after an episode of her programme That’s Life focused on child abuse. The service had 50,000 calls on its first day, which proves just how necessary the service is, both here in the Republic as well as Northern Ireland.