Nearly 50% of reported abuse happened at home

Nearly half of all abuse reported by callers to a specialist telephone service occurred within the family home, new figures show.

And while women accounted for two-thirds of callers, men outnumbered women in many rural counties.

Connect, a free, out-of-hours helpline for abuse survivors, also said that following the announcement of the mother-and-baby home inquiry, they had received more calls from family members of people who spent time in these institutions.