Over 30 years of helping children

Childline is a free, confidential helpline for children and young people.

It was launched by Esther Rantzen more than 30 years ago in response to a plea from children who needed help.

On its first night in 1986, a staggering 50,000 children jammed its phone lines seeking help and advice, many pouring out their traumatic stories as they finally found a place they could turn.

Volunteers manning the phones that evening had wondered if anyone would call – they were stunned by the reaction from so many desperate children.

In the early years, its main focus was on sexual abuse but, by 1989, this had moved to physical abuse, while also helping young victims of sex attacks.

It was in this year that it, among other charities, successfully campaigned for the Children Act 1989, to promote the safeguarding and welfare of children.

By 1993, the focus had returned to sexual abuse and saw Tom Jones backing the cause with his single “All You Need Is Love”, which raised more than £100,000 for the service.

A year later, concerns had moved to bullying, while it also sought to help children of those in the Armed Forces.

Bullying remained top of its priorities for more than 10 years, until 2009, during which time it saw Princess Diana helping to launch its 10th anniversary appeal, raising £7m.

It also saw the Childline Yorkshire and North East service open in 1997 and then, in 2006, the NSPCC and Childline formally joined forces to support and help more children and young people across the UK.

In 2009, childline.org.uk was launched to offer help and advice to children online for the first time. By 2014-15, the website received more than 3.2m visits.

Over the 30 years, more than four million children have been helped, at first via landline and today more often through mobile phones.

The charity has seen a switch by many to online counselling sessions and, in 2015/16, more than two thirds of these took place on the internet. And, while some people associate Childline with sex abuse, today’s issues also include mental health issues such as suicidal feelings, self-harm and unhappiness.