DATA MISSING

FAQs

Call the hotline if you are a:

child who is missing from home / care or a child who is thinking of leaving home / care
parent or carer of a missing child
child, young person, or adult who has information about a missing child

Make a report to the police if you know of a child who has gone missing. This can be done by anybody, not just the parents or carers. You may also call the 116 000 hotline for support, advice, and to share valuable information about a missing child.

Who answers the calls?

Professionally trained Hotline Operators.

The 116 000 hotline is not available in my country, who can I contact instead?

Always contact your national police to report a missing child or to share information relating to a missing child.

Other national hotlines or children’s organisations are available in your country, you can find this online.

Who can call the 116 000 hotline?

Everyone. Children, young people, parents or carers, families, and third party adults.

If you know about a missing child or if you know of a child at risk of going missing, the 116 000 hotline will be able to support you.

What information am I required to give when I call the 116 000 hotline?

You will be asked for details related to the missing child and their circumstances.

The more information provided the more help this will be for the protection of the child.

Every year an estimated two hundred and fifty thousand children slip through the net of Europe’s child protection systems and disappear. In order to adequately respond to the challenges faced by children (at risk of) going missing, in particular the risks of them being subject to violence, it is essential to have robust data collection and reporting mechanisms in place on missing children.

The DATA MISSING project is the first project that pilots a new methodology, develops practical guidance and does capacity building in the form of workshops on the topic of data collection for missing children. It is also the first project that takes a comprehensive approach to missing children, by focusing in particular on children in vulnerable situations, facing discrimination and at higher risk of violence (e.g. gender, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, children in institutions, etc).

Methodology

Through quantitative and qualitative research, this project aims to provide an overview of existing data on missing children for the 27 EU Member States, to identify gaps in the data collection systems and to develop recommendations to advocate for better, disaggregated, and comparable data collection mechanisms across Europe. Building upon the research, a new data collection mechanism focused on vulnerabilities, will be piloted in the 116000 hotlines in Belgium, Cyprus and Lithuania.

Project Outcomes

The outcomes of the pilots will be shared and discussed in national workshops with a wide range of relevant national authorities to find synergies and strengthen collaboration to improve national data collection systems. As a result, an EU guidance will be developed and shared with 116 000 hotlines on how to implement new data collection mechanisms.

By developing recommendations on improved data collection mechanisms and an EU guidance for hotlines, the DATA MISSING project will benefit all 116 000 hotlines and EU Member States, and ultimately pave the way for better prevention and response to missing children cases.

Resources

DATA MISSING-Gender Ethics and Non-Discrimination Policy

DATA MISSING-Project Flyer

Contact person

Paola Rando

Senior Project Officer

Partners

The action is funded by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers (DG JUST), under the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Value Programme (CERV).