Missing Children Europe

Missing Children Europe
The importance of the 116 000 hotlines to ensure a
national and European coordinated responses in missing
children cases
Federica Toscano
Project Officer
25 May 2015 - Vilnius
Strategy, projects and priorities
1
2
3
4
Missing Children Europe
The network of 116 000 hotlines
Child Alert Systems
Conclusions
Co-funded by the European Commission
Daphne Programme
1
Missing Children Europe
1.1 Mission, 2014 – 2017 strategy
1.2 Project and Initiatives
1.3 Definitions
1
1.1
Missing Children Europe
Mission, 2014 – 2017 strategy
> European federation for missing and sexually exploited children
> 30 organisations from 24 European countries
> Our mission is to prevent, support and protect children from any situation that may lead to or
result from them going missing
1
1.1
Missing Children Europe
Membership & structure
• Full members:
27organisations
• Applicant members:
3 organisations
• Associate members:
1 private individual
1
1.1
Missing Children Europe
Membership & structure
1
1.1
Missing Children Europe
Membership & structure
• President: Maud de Boer Buquicchio
• General Assembly: all full members // annual budget, fees, bylaws, membership
applications, …
• Board of Directors: elected by the General Assembly
• Secretariat: Brussels based team // day to day running of the organisation – assisted by a
team of volunteers
1
1.1
Missing Children Europe
Mission, 2014 – 2017 strategy
4 strategic pillars of action
Quality services & Tools
Research & Evidence
Awareness & Prevention
Policies & Laws
3 thematic priorities
>
>
>
Runaways
Parental abductions
Missing unaccompanied migrant minors
13 specific objectives, incl.
Ensure cooperation & quality of services
hotlines
provided by 116 000
Increase general public awareness on the problem of missing
children
Support professionals in preventing child disapperance
…
1
1.1
Missing Children Europe
Membership & structure
Building member capacity
& sharing best practices
1
1.2
Missing Children Europe
Project and Initiatives
• Field: missing and sexually exploited children
• Focus:
• Cross border challeges and opportunities
• Building bridges between actors involved and connect the dots between key stakeholders
• Examples:
Cross Borders Mediators’ Network
Notfound.org
1
1.3
Missing Children Europe
Definitions
RUNAWAYS:
Minors who run away from
home, from the people
responsible for their care or
from the institution where they
have been placed.
INTERNATIONAL PARENTAL ABDUCTIONS:
Cases where a child is taken away to, or kept
in, a country or
place other than that of its normal residence
by one or more of his/her parents or persons
having parental authority against the other
parent’s will or against the will of the person
with parental authority.
MISSING UNACCOMPANIED MIGRANT
MINORS
Disappearances of migrant children,
nationals of a country with which there is
no free movement of persons, under the age
of 18 who have been separated from both
parents and are not being cared for by an
adult, who by law is responsible for doing
so.
1
1.3
Missing Children Europe
Definitions
ABDUCTION BY A THIRD
PERSON
Abductions of minors by
anyone other than the parents
or persons
with parental authority.
LOST, INJURED OR OTHERWISE MISSING
CHILDREN
Disappearances for no apparent reasons of
minors who have
got lost (e.g. little children at the seaside in
summer) or who have
been injured and cannot be found
immediately (e.g. accidents
during sport activities, at youth camps, etc.), as
well as children
whose reason for disappearing has not yet
been determined.
2
The network of 116 000 hotlines
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
The need of a unified number for missing children in Europe
The state of the 116 000 network
Key Data of 2013
Cooperation with Law Enforcement
2
The network of 116 000 hotlines
2.1
The need of a unified number for missing children in Europe
The disappearance of two girls in Belgium shows the need of
> a number to call everywhere in Europe in cases of a missing child
> facilitated cooperation in cross-border cases
> coordinated procedure and quality standards
2007: European Commission Decision: MS must reserve the six-digit number
116 for services of social value in the EU.
116 000 was the first telephone number reserved as a hotline to report
range
starting with
missing children
2
The network of 116 000 hotlines
2.1
The need of a unified number for missing children in Europe
Missing Children Europe, from promotor of the need of a number becomes the coordinator of a growing
network of 116 000 hotlines, focusing on
> Support in implementation
> Quality standards & cooperation
> Joint communication efforts and campaigns
> Support with EU funding
> Software for case management & data collection
> Monitoring and evaluation of services
2
The network of 116 000 hotlines
2.1
The need of a unified number for missing children in Europe
2008/9: > project aiming at facilitating the operational launch of 116 000
hotlines by identifying
tecnhical obstacles in cooperation with
telecom operators
> launch of a communication campaign jointly in 10 countries
2009:
> revision of the Universal Services Directive
art.27containing the obligation for MS to guarantee access to all European citizens to
the 116 000 hotlines,
> Missing Children Europe and the operative hotlines create the Practical Guide for Hotline
Operators containing
Minimum quality standard of service
Operational tools (later)
2
The network of 116 000 hotlines
2.1
The need of a unified number for missing children in Europe
2010:
> EC Communication “Dial 116 000”
> launch of high level annual conferences co-organised by the
Commission and Missing Children Europe
2011/14:
> development of harmonised 116 000 Client Relationship
Management system
2014/16 > development of an Accreditation Mechanism for 116 000 hotlines
2
The network of 116 000 hotlines
2.2 The state of the 116 000 network
The number is today
operational in 29
European countries
27 EU Member States
Albania, Serbia
Partially in Ukraine
2
The network of 116 000 hotlines
2.3 Key Data of 2014
> 268.309 Calls (+7,3%) and 6,119 cases (+21%)
2
The network of 116 000 hotlines
2,3 Key Data of 2014
2
The network of 116 000 hotlines
2.3 Key Data of 2013
2
The network of 116 000 hotlines
24 Cooperation with Law Enforcement
Why a well-fonctioning network of 116 000 hotlines is very important for a
case of child disappearance?
-The case of Charlotte (13), Elyse (8) and Lore (6)
2
The network of 116 000 hotlines
2.4 Cooperation with Law Enforcement
The 116 000 hotline: What kind of service?
> Specialised in legal, administrative, emotional and psychological support to parents and children
> Help and follow-up during investigation
> Rely on a network of partners to deal with cross-border cases
> Provide after-care – in many cases allowing for secondary prevention
 Complementarity with police’s role
The cases of
Jules and Helene
2
The network of 116 000 hotlines
2.4 Cooperation with Law Enforcement
Support from law enforcement can include measures related to:
> Facilitate communication & cooperation:
• Regular meetings
• Appoint contact person
• Timely mutual exchange of data & information
> Prevention and awareness raising:
• Joint actions
• Mutual trainings
2
The network of 116 000 hotlines
2.4 Cooperation with Law Enforcement
The Practical Guide for Hotlines Operators contains:
1. Common minimum quality standards in operating 116 000 hotlines
Deal with all categories of missing children
Take calls from parents and children
Provide the service in national languages + English
Trained staff, working along clear operational guidelines
Provide aftercare
Rely on an organised system of information classification and data storage
…
2
The network of 116 000 hotlines
2.4 Cooperation with Law Enforcement
2. Cooperation with law enforcement on the basis of a written cooperation protocol is considered a
basic requirement
> European Model Protocol of Cooperation (example)
> Mid-term objective: work on a complementary basis with the Child Alert System, where it exists
3. “Cross-border procedures” Tools
Cross-border cooperation template
Mailbox [email protected]
3
Child Alert Systems
3.1 Past work of Missing Children Europe
3.2 Current actions
3
Child Alert Systems
3.1 Past work of Missing Children Europe
Missing Children Europe is involved in promoting interconnected Child Alert
Systems since 2008
> Declaration of the European Parliament (2008)
> Staff Working Document of the European Commission on best practices for launching a cross-border child
abduction alert
> EU Funding available for Child Alert projects
es: LADS.eu (Lutte Anti Disparitions dans l’Union européenne), Child
Rescue alert in UK
(second round)
 Importance of balancing the risks faced by the child with his or her right to privacy.
3
Child Alert Systems
3.2 Current actions
> Mapping of Existing Child Alert Systems
Operational Meeting in Brussels on the 13/05
> Google Child Alert
Interconnected Child Alert System with Google Platforms
BE, NL, EL, CY, UK
5
…last but not least…
Second International Academic Conference on Missing Children and Adults
8th-10th July, 2015
at the University of Brussels
- Researchers focusing on any of the above aspects related to the phenomenon of missing
- Practioners including experts from Law Enforcement, NGO's including missing children hotlines, social
sector, child protection, guardianship services, central authorities, judiciary authorities, housing services for
children, central authorities
- Policy makers
Registrations will open next week.
Thank you!
> [email protected] > www.facebook.com/missingchildreneurope
> +32 2 894 74 83
> www.twitter.com/missingchildeu
> www.missingchildreneurope.eu
> www.supportmce.eu