Rise in violence accompanying sexual assaults
The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre said about 40% of new clients counselled in 2012 suffered such violence, compared to 29% in 2011.
In its 2012 report, the centre revealed 125 of 322 clients experienced the following types of violence:
* Physical abuse (46% of adult victims and 22% of child abuse survivors);
* Psychological abuse (15% and 31%);
* Harassment/intimidation (10% and 22%);
* Threat to kill (12% and 9.5%);
* Imprisonment (6% and 4%);
* Attempt to kill (4% and 3%).
The report said this trend was also reflected among the 12,000 calls and contacts to its 24-hour helpline.
“Sadly, 2012 has seen an increase in the levels of violence being experienced by our callers on a daily basis, which reflects a general trend towards more violent sexual crime worldwide,” the report stated.
It said many of its clients who were asylum seekers “experienced rape, torture, and imprisonment”, while other clients were victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation.
Centre chief executive Ellen O’Malley-Dunlop said victims of sexual and physical violence were bearing the brunt of the backlash to the recession. “Since the recession there has been a disturbing year-on-year increase in calls to the national 24-hour helpline from victims of adult sexual violence,” she said.
There had been a 23% increase in first-time callers between 2009 and 2012, she said. “In 2012, 54% of calls to the helpline related to adult sexual violence; 41% of sexual abuse incidents disclosed by 322 new clients in 2012 included other forms of violence, such as physical and psychological abuse, intimidation, and threats to kill.”
The report said helpline counsellors dealt on a daily basis with “callers who were depressed and suicidal” and through their training offered them space to be heard and supported.
It said staff had raised concerns about the “extent of anecdotal reports” from both callers and clients who believed they had been victims of drug-assisted rapes.
“Unfortunately, drug-assisted rape is hard to prove and our staff are concerned that unscrupulous people may be in a position to perpetrate this crime with impunity and feel strongly the issue needs to be highlighted.”
* National 24-hour rape crisis helpline: 1800 778888. See drcc.ie for report.
* 12,040 calls/contacts in 2012 — 9,142 were genuine counselling calls
* 4,046 were first time callers, up 23% on 2010
* 83% of callers were female, 17% male
* 54% of calls related to adult sexual violence
* 45% of calls related to childhood sexual abuse
* 67 calls (1%) from adults related to concerns regarding sexualised behaviour of children under 13
* 71% of callers were from Dublin, 29% from outside of the capital
* 54 nationalities contacted the helpline
* 260 victims of rape and sexual assault were accompanied by DRCC staff to a treatment unit in the Rotunda Hospital
* 557 clients received counselling in 2012, 322 of them new clients (up 6% on 2011)
