In six months, more than 8,000 minors have disappeared

In the first six months of 2024, 11,694 reports of disappearance were registered in Italy, with a daily average of 64 cases. The majority concern people under the age of 18, who represent 69.6% of the cases: 8,143. These are some of the data contained in the dossier created by Telefono Azzurro, on the occasion of the International Missing Children's Day , presented at the conference "Invisible Children", organized at the Sala del Refettorio of the Chamber of Deputies.

In terms of citizenship , 57% of the reports concerned foreign citizens , while 43% involved Italian citizens. Among the missing foreign minors (5,773 cases), the phenomenon predominantly concerns males (88%) . Findings are more frequent among females (58.1%) and the most affected age group is between 16 and 17 years old , which represents over 70% of the cases .

"The phenomenon of missing children has assumed alarming proportions, as demonstrated by the international data and those relating to Italy that we have collected in this dossier, the result of a constant presence of Telefono Azzurro with respect to this issue, through the helpline 116,000, active 24 hours a day, seven days a week , and connected to the European network of Missing Children Europe", said Ernesto Caffo , president of Telefono Azzurro.

"The ability to listen and intervene allows us to implement increasingly effective prevention, contrast and aid tools. Many children flee from wars, poverty and natural disasters and, if unaccompanied, risk becoming victims of exploitation and trafficking or suffering abuse during the journey .

But there are also increasingly more cases – in Italy – of disappearances and escapes from home due to complex family situations or social conditioning that act in an increasingly negative way», continued Caffo, «also thanks to the push that invasive digital tools and channels give, dramatically influencing the increasingly psychologically fragile personalities of children and adolescents».

The president of Telefono Azzurro continued by saying: «It is clear that there is an urgent need to address the crisis of missing minors with a local and global perspective. Coordinated international strategies are needed to act immediately in taking charge of situations where timely intervention is a determining factor. For this reason, in-depth knowledge of the phenomenon is needed, a “common alphabet” is needed to read it correctly and in a shared way . An alliance is needed between the subjects called upon to take charge of the problem: governments, police forces, local social networks, non-profits ».

"It is necessary," continued Caffo, "that there is an immediate intervention network throughout the Schengen area, through the exchange between networks of European associations , that can immediately alert on the need to find, sharing information on the minor, on his origins." The president specified that "the intervention must not stop at the report of disappearance, it is essential to also activate paths of accompaniment and family and social reintegration for those children and adolescents who, voluntarily or by coercion of adults, live this dramatic experience."

An alliance is needed between the subjects called to take charge of the problem: governments, police forces, territorial social networks, non-profits

Ernesto Caffo

"There are 5,103 missing children in these first months of 2025: 1,196 Italians and 3,107 foreigners," said Wanda Ferro , Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of the Interior (on behalf of the Prime Minister). "Unaccompanied foreign minors, who are in Italy without assistance and legal representation, are particularly exposed to violence and organized crime: in 2024 there were 8,170, from the beginning of 2025 (up to May 22) there were 3,738. We must all give our contribution by not lowering our gaze."

In Italy, "there are 4,700 missing minors who have not been found since 1974: for over 50 years, every week two minors are lost forever, " said Saverio Ordine , the Government's extraordinary commissioner for missing persons. " Every year, 20-30% of minors are not found ." " The world of volunteering that characterizes our society is the real strength for managing the phenomenon of missing minors ," said Riccardo Sessa , president of the Italian Society for International Organization - Sioi.

The intervention must not stop at the missing person report, it is essential to also activate support and family and social reintegration paths for those children and adolescents who, voluntarily or by coercion of adults, live this dramatic experience.

Ernesto Caffo

"Even young people with addictions and psychiatric problems, with their families, are abandoned. And they don't speak, so it's also difficult to create a system. During international conflicts, deported children deserve attention ," Sessa emphasized. "Since Russian troops entered Ukraine, at least 20,000 Ukrainian children have undergone the phenomenon of Russification: they were forcibly taken from their families, given new identities and taken courses in "patriotism." Without volunteer organizations, these phenomena wouldn't even be known."

In 2024, the emergency number handled 77 cases, with an average of six per month . The main reasons collected from the reports include running away from home (36.5%), being found (25%), running away from one's community/institution (12.5%), unspecified disappearance (12.5%), running away from the reception center (7.3%), international (3.1%) and national (2.1%) abduction . In 48.7% of the cases, the minors handled are female, while in 51.25% of the cases they are male.

Taking into consideration the age, these are mainly children between zero and 10 years old (12.9% of cases), while those involving pre-adolescence (aged between 11 and 14) are 16.7%. The largest percentage - 70.4% concerns adolescents between 15 and 18 years old . Analyzing the origin, 56.9% of the reports concern Italian citizens, while 41.67% are of foreign nationality. Classifying the cases managed based on geographical origin, it emerges that the requests for help came mainly from Lazio with 23 reported cases, followed by Veneto 11 cases, Piedmont 10 cases and Lombardy eight cases.

Opening photo by Lyndon Antcliff on Unsplash and, in the article, photo by the press office of Telefono Azzurro