This year, our member ASTRA marks the tenth anniversary of the running of the 116000 Hotline for missing children in Serbia. During this time, the hotline has received 4,413 calls. Out of these, the organisation has detected 143 cases of missing children (83 girls and 60 boys) and the authorities have successfully solved almost all.
For the anniversary, ASTRA published the report MISSING CHILDREN SERBIA: European Missing Children Hotline 116000 in Serbia – The First Ten Years of Operation. It presents the collected data, observed trends, and conclusions about the phenomenon of missing children in the country. It provides an overview of the profile of callers, the most common reasons for the disappearance of children in Serbia, the types of assistance provided and the outcomes of cases. ASTRA hopes that the report will provide an evidence base for policymakers and service providers to enhance policies and programmes to address the issue.