At Butterflies, we have run a child helpline since 1998 as part of Childline 1098, which is a freephone telephone number set up by the government’s Childline India Foundation. The helpline operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in 595 cities and districts across India, in partnership with 1,060 NGOs. At Butterflies we are responsible for South and South-East Delhi and Nizamuddin Railway Station. Childline 1098 is integral to our child protection programme.


In March 2020 when India entered lockdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we continued to operate the helpline, which was considered an essential service.


In an average month Butterflies receives 80–100 calls requiring intervention, but during the three-month lockdown this dropped to 15-16 per month. The type of calls also varied, with many parents, especially those without smartphones or an internet connection, very concerned for their children’s lack of education while schools were closed. Butterflies also received several calls from parents requesting that their children be taken into institutional care, feeling they would receive a better quality of care and education. 


Childline 1098 is well-known in the districts where we work. We conduct outreach in schools and communities, in busy areas like bus and railway stations, and marketplaces, and distribute pamphlets promoting the helpline. We also deliver child protection training to police, hospital staff, teachers and child welfare committee members, resulting in increased awareness of child protection issues among key decision-makers.


It was fortunate that this important child protection mechanism proved highly adaptable in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.


To learn more about our experience of running the helpline during the pandemic please read the attached practitioner guidance paper which includes our top tips. Do you have any comments you can share with the community relating to our work, or learnings about how your organisation has approached child helplines during times of crisis? Please share, or post any follow-up questions for us at Butterflies below - we'd love to hear from you.

 

The attached resources are part of the How We Care series, an innovative space for those working with children and families to share practice. By practitioners, for practitioners. Learnings from 4 other Family for Every Child members, on this theme, have been shared here.
 

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