Fear of Being Stigmatized Prevents Young People from Calling for Help
During adolescence, risk taking and peer pressure are often heightened, and sometimes situations can escalate into danger. The aim of the 112 Day campaign is to strengthen young men’s ability to recognize emergencies and encourage them to act.
Young men are often present where things happen. Today’s phenomena include dangerous social media challenges, climbing at high altitudes, violence, experimenting with substances, compromising traffic safety, filming emergencies, and entering abandoned buildings — not to mention mental health challenges.
─ Witnessing an assault, violence within the family, friends engaging in life threatening stunts, or a young person passed out in the snow are examples of situations where many hesitate to intervene, says Command Duty Officer Lauri Järvenpää.
Emergency situations involving young people are reflected in a significant increase in the number of tasks forwarded by the Emergency Response Centre to social services. In 2025, an average of 35 tasks per day were forwarded to social services concerning missing minors, runaways, and other complex difficulties. In 2021, the corresponding figure was 20. Similarly, minors’ use of alcohol and/or drugs results in 19 tasks per day for social services, compared to 13 in 2020. Many of these situations also required action from other authorities.
Making an Emergency Call Is an Act of Courage
Young people may be the first on the scene in an emergency, but they do not always dare or want to intervene. Peer pressure and fear of being labeled can prevent them from seeking help. Some young people say they feel nervous about calling 112 because they don’t know what to say. It is therefore important for everyone to understand that the caller does not need to prepare in advance or know which authority is needed.
─ Emergency Response Centre operators are trained specifically to ask the right questions and determine what needs to be clarified. What matters is that everyone knows when to call 112 and answers the questions asked during the call, says Stakeholder Specialist Patrick Tiainen.
An emergency call should be made in an urgent emergency. You can recognize such a situation when professional help is needed on site: rescue services, emergency medical services, police, border guard, or social and crisis services.
─ It is not the young person’s responsibility to solve or assess a friend’s distress. What matters is making the emergency call. It is not snitching — it is asking for help, and it is a courageous act, Tiainen adds.
112 Day in February 2026
- Campaign period: 112 Day is celebrated annually on 11 February, and the campaign runs for the entire week. In 2026, Emergency Number Week will take place during Week 7.
- Target group: Young men
- Theme: Use the emergency number 112 correctly
- Slogan: 112 – your life, your number, don’t miss it.
