For many countries around the world, May 25 – is International Missing Children's Day. This date traces its history back to the United States, and the symbol of the Day is the image of a blue forget-me-not.
On this day in 1979, American six-year-old schoolboy Evian Pates disappeared on his way home; the whole world was looking for him, the case received wide resonance, but the search was unsuccessful. 4 years after this event, US President Ronald Reagan declared May 25 National Missing Children's Day, and a year later, in 1984, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) was founded. This initiative was soon supported in a number of European countries, and in 1997 the International Center for the Search for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC) was created. It was on his initiative that the International Day of Missing Children was established in 2010 and its date was set at – on May 25.
The missing child – is an emergency on a global scale, and for parents there is nothing more terrible than this fact. And the establishment of this Day was an attempt to draw the attention of the world community to the problem of missing minors, to the problem of protecting children from abductions, difficult life situations and illegal exploitation.
According to official statistics alone, there are millions of missing children on the planet, and every year there are more of them. According to international human rights organizations, on average, more than 70 thousand minors disappear in Europe every year, in Russia – is approximately 10 thousand, in the USA – is more than 420 thousand. Moreover, these figures – are official data, unofficial data is much higher.
As practice shows, many of the missing children themselves run away from their parents or from the orphanage. The reasons for this are different – quarrels with elders, misunderstanding or aggression in the family, the desire to «view the world»... But cases of abduction of children for the purpose of selling or sexual exploitation are not uncommon, and the statistics of such abductions, unfortunately, are increasing every year. Moreover, « often goes missing due to the inattention and negligence of parents who leave their children unattended or do not explain to them the rules of communication with strangers. As a result, the child becomes easy prey for the criminal.
The world's first emergency warning system for the disappearance of a child was also created in the United States, in 1996, and was called «Amber Alert», where Amber – is the name of a 9-year-old girl who tragically died in Texas. Alert translated from English – alarm. The system quickly connects the public to the search through the media, electronic displays on roads and airports, via email and smartphones, and ensures the widest possible search: it raises volunteers and the army, the coast guard and the FBI, the media and psychologists. In the United States alone, during its existence, this system helped find and return more than 1,000 children to their families. Since 2002, other countries began to adopt this experience; in 2011, a similar warning system was created in Russia.
Also, in most states, law enforcement agencies and structures have special forces to search for missing and abducted children. In addition, dozens of volunteers and public organizations are searching for them around the world. This process uses all – methods from posting leaflets to combing the area. And one of the operational means of recent years, to disseminate information about a missing child, has been the Internet, where today there are hundreds of databases on missing minors, and the World Wide Web allows you to quickly respond to current events. In Russia, there are also several groups searching for children on social networks; publications about missing people on regional websites are very effective.
Among the common methods of searching for children – is placing photographs of missing people in the media, on billboards, on packages of essential goods –, for example, on bags of milk. In the United States, iris-based personality recognition technologies are also used when searching for children. There is a hotline in European countries where parents, relatives and eyewitnesses can contact. The main principle of – is not to give up and not to stop searching.
On the Day of Missing Children itself, various educational events and events are traditionally held around the world («round tables», expert meetings, conferences, competitions and exhibitions, etc.), thematic programs are broadcast on radio and television. Large shopping centers in American and European cities house information stands depicting the blue forget-me-not, parents are given brochures, and children are told how to behave with strangers.
In Russia, official events of the Day were first held in 2012 under the patronage of the Center for Children's Safety in the Information Society «Don't Let!», a Russian member of the GMCN Global Network of Missing Child Search Centers, which has been operating since 1998. Within the Center «Do not allow!» an all-Russian Database of Missing Children is being developed, a consulting service is operating, educational and training materials are being developed and distributed, work is underway to expand the volunteer network, and interaction is being carried out with relevant government and law enforcement agencies in order to ensure maximum protection for children. The events dedicated to the Day are attended not only by representatives of relevant government and law enforcement agencies, but also by volunteers, workers in the educational and social spheres, specialists in the field of rehabilitation of crime victims, and non-profit organizations.
• Infographics – poster «May 25 — International Day of Missing Children»
• Story «How they looked for Marishka»