The non-profit foundation speaks to around 700 children and youths every day, which is far more than during the first year of Covid-19, it announced on Monday.
Around 1% of these calls (some seven per day) concern youngsters who have had thought of suicide whilst others have self-harmed in some form.
Almost half of the people contacting Pro Juventute say they have experienced sexual harassment online.
Not all the problems can be attributed to the pandemic. Another important theme of consultations (23%) concerns career choices, with many youngsters complaining of “excessive demands and stress”.
“The problems that are now visible are not only a direct consequence of the corona pandemic, but of years of neglect in the area of mental health of children and adolescents – despite many warning signs,” the foundation statedExternal link. “It is time to take the problems of future generations seriously and invest more resources in dealing with them.”
It has called for more funds to support its 147.ch advice service.
More than 300,000 children and young people and almost 140,000 parents in Switzerland benefit from Pro Juventute’s services every year.
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A 2014 study by the World Health OrganisationExternal link (WHO) found that 27% of eleven-year-old children in Switzerland suffer from sleep problems, while 15% complain of constant depression. In addition, 12% regularly suffer from headaches, Swiss public television reports. However, Pro Juventute Foundation president Katja Wiesendanger, herself a primary school teacher for more than 30…
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Pro Juventute’s emergency “147” telephone hotline, designed to serve young people in need, has reported a significant increase in calls from troubled teens who have become the targets of name-calling, teasing and verbal abuse via the internet. Cyber-bullying is particularly threatening to teens because it continues away from school, is not monitored by adults and…
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