Support helplines inundated with calls for help
Victim support group One in Four said yesterday it had been inundated with calls from members of the public since the report was published, with many callers contacting the group for support for the first time.
A spokeswoman for the group said there were 92 first-time callers on Wednesday on the back of the report’s publication. She said there was a huge rise in first-time callers yesterday as well, adding that the group was “expecting the high volume of calls to continue”.
The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre said it had also experienced a rise in callers to its helpline, with more than 300 calls made by victims of sex abuse, their friends and family between the launch of the report and 8am yesterday.
“We’ve had quite a number of first time disclosures,” said Ellen O’Malley-Dunlop, chief executive of the Rape Crisis Centre.
“The people calling the helplines over the past 24 hours have been distraught at the continuation of the cavalier attitude towards the lack of action taken when victims and their families reported the crime of child sex abuse, as was evidenced in the Cloyne report.”
The HSE, which set up a designated helpdesk for people who suffered clerical child sexual abuse, said it had received a large volume of calls. A HSE spokeswoman said the helpdesk was busy from when it opened at 8am to midnight when it closed.
She said the National Counselling Service, Harbour Counselling Service, Cork Sexual Violence Centre and the National 24-hour Helpline for Victims of Rape and Sexual Abuse had all experienced a surge in calls.
