20% of calls to abuse helpline go unanswered

One in five calls to a counselling helpline for adult survivors of childhood abuse are going unanswered because of staff shortages.

Connect expects a 12% increase in calls by year end — about 8,300 calls, compared with 7,376 last year.

However, counsellors are only able to answer 80% of the calls made to out-of-hours telephone based service for abuse survivors.