Ask Sam

Hello

Thank you for sending your letter to me, I can hear you are concerned about what might happen now that you have spoken to ChildLine. It is good that you were able to talk to a counsellor in ChildLine about what has been going on for you. When we share something that we've been keeping private for the first time, or troubling us, it is normal to feel anxious and wonder what is going to happen afterwards. ChildLine take confidentiality (privacy if you like) very seriously and they want to protect you and information about you. 

As I do not know exactly what it is you spoke to ChildLine about it is hard for me to give you a precise answer, but I can tell you more about how the people at ChildLine work and how important your confidentiality is to them. 

When you speak to the counsellors at ChildLine it is kept confidential - the only times ChildLine might pass information on is if they felt your life was in danger, you were being abused by someone in a position of trust (for example a teacher), or you were hurting another young person. There is information on the ChildLine website about confidentiality. If you have any concerns about the people you mentioned getting into trouble then I would encourage you to talk to one of the counsellors at ChildLine about this. They will be able to give you more information about this once you explain a bit more to them. You can give them a ring on 0800 1111, request a 1-2-1 chat through the website or send us an e-mail.

Take care

Sam