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The Office of the Commissioner for the Protection of Children’s Rights neither has nor has a helpline been set up nor has it ever announced a service, the responsible commissioner, Despo Michailidou, said in response to a website publication referring to a call to a helpline.
The Deputy Department of Social Welfare also responded to the same publication, clarifying that the telephone lines mentioned in the publication, particularly 22873200 and the four-digit number 1440, do not belong to the Deputy Department of Social Welfare “nor are they answered by social welfare service officers”.
In an announcement today, the Commissioner for the Protection of Child Rights said citizens can call the telephone line of his office during working hours (07:30 to 15:00), with an option for internal connections to provide faster access depending on the subject being addressed.
He noted that “to make the process as friendly as possible for children who wish to communicate, Internal Connection No. 1 is provided.”
He explained that “the helpline service must be staffed with appropriate professionals and available 24 hours a day so that it can primarily cater to the needs of children and other citizens”.
Bearing in mind the rights of the child derived from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Mrs. Michelidou stressed that “national authorities must maintain telephone helplines”, noting that “this is a very important service that allows children to easily access immediate and free support, without the need for parental consent”.
Therefore, he added, “immediate access to information and advisory services through a helpline is one of my recommendations for occasional intervention by the competent authorities, in fact, with reference to a helpline that already existed but was terminated following the relevant decision”.
She also pointed out the need for a helpline, a point also emphasised by members of the Adolescent Guidelines Group (AWG) in her office.
The Deputy Minister of Social Welfare clarified that line 22873200 belongs to the Office of the Commissioner for the Protection of Children’s Rights and line 1440 belongs to the Association for the Prevention and Treatment of Domestic Violence (SPAVO), noting that the social welfare services respond directly to incidents both during and outside public service hours within the framework of the specific manual on interdepartmental procedures for domestic violence developed between the YKE, the police, the mental health services and other co-competent services.
“The collaboration with all the relevant institutions, as well as the Office of the Commissioner for Protection of Children’s Rights and SPAVO, has been invaluable,” he noted.
Regarding the incident, the publication describes that the Social Welfare Services did not receive any information, but in communication with the Commissioner’s Office and SPAVO, they were assured that the telephone lines were working properly.
In addition, regarding the personal data of the case, the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare stated that it had contacted the author of the publication and received all the information necessary to deal with the incident.
Source: KYPE
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