The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is calling on Governments to prioritise children and young people in their COVID-19 recovery plans.
The call follows the release of a new report, Impacts of COVID-19 on children and young people who contact Kids Helpline (2020), which shows children and young people have experienced serious impacts on their mental health, social connections and education during the pandemic.
President of the AHRC, Rosalind Croucher said the report by the Commission and yourtown, the organisation that runs Kids Helpline, analysed data from 2,567 counselling sessions in which children and young people discussed the impact of COVID-19 on their lives.
“Since lockdown restrictions were introduced in March, the national 24/7 counselling and support service Kids Helpline has received a significant increase in the volume of children and young people seeking help, up 24 per cent to the end of August compared to 2019,” Professor Croucher said.
“The concerns they raised in counselling sessions provide important insights into how governments, parents and educators can better support children and young people through the pandemic,” she said.
“The report is unique because it is not based on surveys or expert opinion, but on the lived experiences of children and young people seeking help during the pandemic – and its recommendations relate directly to their concerns.”
Professor Croucher said mental health was the most common issue, with nearly a third of children and young people describing it as a concern.
She said many of the children and young people spoke about the impact of COVID-19 on pre-existing mental health conditions, including anxiety and depression, phobias, eating disorders, obsessive and compulsive behaviours, intrusive thoughts, and self-harm.
“The second most common concern among children and young people who contacted Kids Helpline was social isolation, with a fifth raising this as an impact on their lives,” she said.
“The third major impact children and young people spoke about was on education, with 20 per cent saying they struggled with changes to their learning environment.”
Professor Croucher said children and young people were particularly susceptible to the impacts of the pandemic and the concerns they raised highlighted the need for appropriate supports for families experiencing hardship, and for schools delivering remote learning.
The report made seven recommendations aimed at equipping children, young people, and their families to cope with the unprecedented health, social and economic challenges of the pandemic.
The Commission’s 47-page report can be accessed at this PS News link.
