The number of police reports about missing children in Europe is 250,000 each year, which corresponds to the disappearance of one child every two minutes. AGI reported this on May 25.
In particular, in Italy alone in 2023, 21,951 cases of missing/abducted children were registered, whose traces were completely lost. This was announced by the Italian telephone company Telefono Azzurro, partner of the international association “Missing Children in Europe”, on the occasion of the International Day of Missing Children, celebrated on May 25.
Telefono Azzurro joins the “Missing Dreams” campaign launched by “Missing Children in Europe”, a European federation that deals with the problems of missing children and their sexual exploitation, and also coordinates the “116 000” telephone lines, a single European number for missing minors, operated in Italy by Telefono Azzurro.
Every year, on the International Day of Missing Children, Europe publishes the Figures and Trends report. This report collects and analyzes data from a network of hotlines to help professionals better understand the complexity of the problem and develop effective child protection strategies.
In 2023, 116,000 missing children helplines across Europe received 67,345 calls related to 7,274 missing children cases. Of the cases reported in 2023, 66% involved children who ran away or were removed from their homes or care facilities.
Cases of child abduction by the other parent (18%) and disappearances of migrant children (6%) reported to hotlines also represent alarming trends that require immediate attention and support from authorities.
Members of Missing Children in Europe, including Telefono Azzurro, have expressed growing concern about child bullying, both online and offline, as a major factor in young people running away from home.
Due to their increased vulnerability, these children are at risk of sexual exploitation and victims of traffickers. Regarding Italian minors, 55.4% of the complaints refer to men and 44.6% to women. The majority of minor disappearances in Italy were due to voluntary abandonment (75.6%). Most of these cases involve children who run away due to abuse, neglect and/or violence. But once on the streets, they face numerous threats to their safety and health.
“Many children are fleeing war, poverty and natural disasters and, if unaccompanied, risk exploitation, trafficking or violence during their journey. “A concerted effort is required between the different parties to act immediately and take measures in situations where timely intervention is a determining factor to avoid the most dire consequences.”explains Ernesto Caffo, president of the SOS Telefono Azzurro ETS Foundation.
In addition, more than 18,000 migrant children disappeared after arriving in Europe between 2018 and 2020.
According to the European Commission, around 15% of human trafficking victims in the EU are children. According to the International Organization for Migration, children between 13 and 17 years old make up the majority of victims of human trafficking (46.6%).
Unaccompanied foreign minors have historically been an issue of particular importance in the Italian context. According to the latest estimates from Lost in Europe, some 51,439 unaccompanied minors disappeared from reception centers in the broader European context (EU plus the United Kingdom, Norway and Switzerland) between 2021 and 2023. Of these, almost half were taken to Italian territory, and 10,100 disappeared in 2023 alone: this means that, on average, almost 28 unaccompanied foreign minors disappear every day without a trace in Italy.
Source: Rossa Primavera
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.