Alex's Answer
What happens if we tell you something serious
Your Question
What if you say something serious but you guys call the police or ambulance even if you don’t want them too
Answer
Hello, thanks for getting in touch with us.Â
Childline is a 24/7 listening service for those 18 years and younger living, in Ireland. It’s a safe space to talk about your thoughts, feelings and whatever is going on for you. We don’t judge or tell you what to do. We can talk about what options are available to you.
All calls and webchats with Childline start off anonymous as we only share first names and ages. Throughout a conversation if we hear something that involves risk to the safety of a young person, then we would be of course concerned. While it is true that we can let emergency services like the Gardaà or Túsla (the Child and Family Agency in Ireland) know of a situation where someone is at risk, because the call is anonymous, it is up to the young person calling to make that decision.
If the young person decides to give us any identifying information about themselves, (such as full names, addresses, etc.) we would have a responsibility to pass the information on to either or both of those 2 organisations. It is their job to make sure that every young person in Ireland is living in a safe environment and is free from risk.
The important thing for you to know though, is that the choice always lies with the young person to give us those identifying details. Otherwise, the call stays anonymous.Â
We hope this answers your question. If you would like to know more, you can phone us on our freephone number 1800 66 66 66 or use our webchat service at www.childline.ie by clicking the orange Live Chat icon on the righthand side of the screen.
Best regards,
Alex