Campaign encourages young people to talk about anxieties

The NSPCC have launched a new campaign, in order to encourage children and young people to discuss their anxieties and worries.

The ‘Someone To Turn To’ campaign is supported by a number of celebrities, including footballer, Thierry Henry, radio presenter, Sara Cox, television presenter, Graham Norton and singer, Lisa Maffia. The stars will be appearing in the first of a series of televised ads, which will be shown on ITV, Channel 4, five and Sky TV.

The new campaign was launched after new research conducted by the NSPCC revealed that a third (34%) of children and young people are always worried about something. The study, which included interviews with 750 11 to 16-year-olds and 500 parents of 11 to 16-year-olds throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland, revealed that the main worries for this age group were: exams (82%), the fear of being attacked in the street (69%), divorce of parents (50%), and being bullied (49%).

Ian Elliott, divisional director of the NSPCC in Northern Ireland, said the campaign would provide support for young people, especially those who felt unable to talk their parents.

He said: “Research has shown that young people do experience a number of worries, problems and concerns which they have difficulty finding help with. Many of them do not talk to people early enough about those difficulties – and talking about the problems is the first step in finding that help.”

The NSPCC will be sending out over a million booklets, entitled ‘Worried? Need To Talk?’ to secondary schools throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The booklet explains about abuse and how young people can find someone to talk to. Fifty-five schools in Northern Ireland have already ordered the booklet.

The initiative, which is part of the NSPCC’s 'FULL STOP' campaign, to stamp out child cruelty, is also supported by a new website at www.worriedneed2talk.org.uk which provides the same information on the Internet, as well as a list of organizations which offer support. The site also explains to children how to cover their tracks on the Internet, so that no one using the same computer can tell that they have accessed the site.

The NSPCC is also calling for the government to help break the cycle of child abuse, by enabling all schools in the UK to offer independent counseling for schoolchildren if they need it.

(KMcA)