The First Children Embassy in the World Međaši launched the “We Should Not Keep Violence Unreported” campaign, which aims to inform the public about the problem of exposure of children in Macedonia to violence.

“We need to talk about violence and child abuse. The consequences are very serious. Fear, insecurity, low self-confidence, mistrust of institutional protection and the uninformed assistance and support services are the most common reasons for children to keep their silence, suffer and rarely report violence”, Međaši says.

The idea for the campaign grew from the analysis of the findings of the SOS Phone-Line over the past several years. The results demonstrate growing numbers of reported abuses and violence. The reports were usually filed by adults who witnessed violence and abuses of children.

The Campaign intends to encourage the children to report violence, abuses and other problems on the SOS Phone-Line for Children and Youth (0800 1 2222).

The calls are answered by volunteers with background in several professions (psychologists, social workers, pedagogues, lawyers, family counsellors) that invest their experience and knowledge to create a better world for the children. Parallel to the SOS service, there is a free legal advisory service which prepares submissions to the state institutions, depending on the actual reported problem.

Međaši implements the campaign in cooperation with Accent Media, as a media partner which will secure billboard space all over Macedonia.

A total of 20 billboards (eight bilingual, in Macedonian and Albanian) were posted throughout the country – 10 in Skopje and the others in Prilep, Bitola, Struga, Gostivar, Debar, Tetovo, Kumanovo, Strumica, Štip and Veles.