INTERVIEW: Saša Risojević, coordinator of the Blue phone (Plavi telefon)

For several years, UNICEF in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been partnering with the Nova generacija association from Banja Luka, which started and runs the Blue phone, free counselling line for children and young people. In an interview for the www.unicef.ba website, Saša Risojević, psychologist and coordinator of the Blue phone, talks about the ways in which children and young people can get assistance and support, what are the most common reasons for contacting this line, and who are the persons “at the other end”, who will answer a call. He explains how children, but parents too, can recognize cyberbullying and presents the initial results of the recently launched campaign Keep your eyes open! Protect children online, jointly implemented by the Blue phone, Mtel, and UNICEF BiH.    

What are the types of support children and young people can get from the Blue phone and how?

The Blue phone was started because of the need to give children throughout BiH quick and easy access to social protection services, to enhance their rights and create a safe service that will allow them to anonymously report violence and receive psychological counselling and support. Children and young people can contact us on the toll free number  080 03 05 03 every working day from 09:00 to 17:00, and through the anonymous chat application on our web site www.plavitelefon.ba. Additionally, many children choose to contact us using Facebook and Instagram.

Who are the persons at the other end, who will answer the toll free call or online chat?

Children’s calls are answered by our team of professionals, psychologists, who, in addition to formal education, also have specialised knowledge in providing psychological assistance over the phone or chat.

In addition, calls are answered by volunteers/counsellors, students of humanities who have completed comprehensive training and acquired knowledge allowing them to appropriately provide quality support to the callers.

How many calls to the Blue phone were registered this year, and what are the topics that children and young people want to talk about?

During 2024, the Blue phone counsellors answered 3200 calls and 1030 questions via chat counselling. It is important to note that 28 reports of suspected violence and suicide, covering 32 persons, were forwarded to the competent institutions (police, centres for social welfare, and human rights ombudsperson). Children and young people mostly contact us to talk about mental health issues, with the most common topics being fear and anxiety, panic attacks, depression, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts and ideas. In addition to mental health, common topics of discussion are violence and abuse, predominantly domestic violence and cyberbullying. Also, children and young people often want to talk about relationships with their peers and in the family, problems at school, and to learn about sexual and reproductive health.  

To which extent did the violence move from the streets to the internet?

The Blue phone statistics indicate that cyberbullying is on the raise. Number of calls about this topic has increased five times over the last three years, compared to the period before that. Also, of the total number of all reports of suspected violence over the last three years (150 reports of suspected violence in total), 24% is cyberbullying. For the sake of comparison, in the period before that, there have been zero reports of suspected cyberbullying.

When it comes to cyberbullying, what is it that children and young people complain about?

They mostly say that they experience emotional cyberbullying by receiving offensive or threatening messages, or they complaint of sexual harassment and blackmail. For example, a child will receive messages from their peers calling him derogatory names or telling them to kill themselves, and there are also situations when a child gets removed from online groups or their peers spread untruths about them. Additionally, a common case is when boys and girls send their intimate photos to persons they meet online, only to be harassed and blackmailed by those persons. During 2023 and 2024, there has been an increase in the number of calls about sexual violence and harassment online. Compared to 2022, the number of calls in 2023 and 2024 has doubled.

What is cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying is any harassment and abuse using information and communication technologies. In case children and young people, it mostly means harassment, negative comments, using fake profiles, hate groups, intimidation and threats, humiliation in digital environment such as social networks, chat applications, gaming platforms, etc. If someone sends us threatening messages, blackmails us, writes untruths about us or creates content (photos and videos) presenting us in the wrong light, or mocks us online, we talk about digital violence. 

How can parents recognise that their children are victims of cyberbullying?

It is important to monitor their behaviour. Changes in behaviour, such as avoiding being online or sharp increase in the amount of time child spends online can be signs that something is happening in the child’s life.  In addition to changes in behaviour, there are emotional signs, so a child can be low-spirited and sad, appear frightened or distant, or have sudden emotional reactions. These changes do not necessarily imply violence, but certainly mean that a child needs support. Exposure to bullying, mocking, and disrespect in young people can often result in negative image of oneself and one’s worth, which is a fertile ground for development of various mental health issues.

What is the best way to talk to children about this topic?

Parents need to talk to their child and check what is going on. It is important for parents to give their child a sense of security, so they can freely confide in them, because we mustn’t forget that victims of bullying often blame themselves for what is happening to them, and fear the reaction of those around them. Conversation should be free of judgment and criticism, and not make the child feel guilty.

In general, how important is for parents to talk to children about what they watch online, to jointly follow certain content and discuss it?

Talking to children about the way they spend time online is the key to prevention of potential child abuse. Just as the parent wants to hear about school or some other activity, they also show interest in the time online. Such a relationship builds trust and open communication, and a child is much more free to confide in the parent if exposed to any negative content.

How effective can bans or restrictions on internet use be?

Internet is a great human invention, and parents can teach a child how to use it appropriately and how to recognise potential negative content or dangers. This is why we believe that internet should not be banned, but rules and boundaries on its use set. In addition, it is very important that parents adhere to those rules as well, because their habits will set an example for children, positive or negative, on how to use the internet.

Together with Mtel and UNICEF, the Blue phone has been participating in the campaign, Keep your eyes open! Protect children online. Do you already see some effects of the campaign, increased number of calls, a switch in the topics and approaches?

The campaign we have been implementing in partnership with Mtel and UNICEF has proved to be very important for informing children and parents about the Blue phone. After the campaign’s launch, we noticed a considerably increase in the number of parents calling to hear about and seek advice on children’s mental health. Since May, the number of calls on suicide and suicidal thoughts among young people has increased, and we get one or two such calls daily. What is also important is that since the launch of the campaign, we’ve had 16 reports of suspected violence.

How important are such campaigns and how effective can they be, in your opinion?

Campaigns such as this one are very important because they put certain topics in the focus of the population and children and can lead to positive changes in behaviour. Also, campaigns are very useful when it comes to informing children and adults about the availability of services they can turn to when in danger or subjected to violence.

This year, the Blue phone celebrated its 11^th anniversary, and is well established among the children and young people, and in the community alike. However, the fact is that it is not part of the system. How important would it be for such a service to be supported by the system, to be integral, and financed by the state?

The Blue phone has shown over the years how important a resource it is for all children in Bosnia and Herzegovina. System support for the operation of the Blue phone would significantly improve the possibilities for the service to be further developed in terms of quality and availability. Our data indicates that every month we have about 200 missed calls that occur after the end of working hours. With systemic support, this number would be much lower and children would have greater access to the services they need. At the same time, providing institutional support for the Blue phone would contribute to the implementation of various recommendations that BiH received in relation to observing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.