In the past decade, over 2000 youngsters in Scotland have made call to ChildLine to talk about their parents’ harmful drinking.

A study shows more than 230 Scottish children called ChildLine and expressed their fears and anxiety last year. Majority of youngsters have reported about the drinking habit of their parents, physical abuse and other family problems. In contrast, only about 0.1% of children in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have called to discuss the issue.

There has been a 132% rise in complaints of sexual abuse by women, and a 27% rise in complaints by men. Analysis of the data shared by the helpline found that complaints about boys being abused by women are higher than men, whereas, the reports by girls about abuse by men are ten times higher than the abuse by women.

Tam Baillie, Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People, said, “I welcome this research in highlighting a very serious problem. It’s appropriate that the Government takes all the steps it can to tackle alcohol misuse as a matter of urgency, because the problem impacts many more children than drug misuse does in Scotland”.

Elaine Chalmers, head of ChildLine in Scotland said, “Harmful parental drinking can dominate family relationships and affect children’s well-being in every aspect of their lives. Often children are experiencing problems against a backdrop of family separation and loss, which they frequently recognize as causing their parents’ drinking to escalate”.