Fourfold increase in calls to Women’s Aid since start of 2016

The number of calls per week to the Women’s Aid national helpline has almost quadrupled since it became a 24/7 service at the start of the year.

The organisation said it received 383 contacts from January 4 to the end of the month, representing an increased rate of 283% of anticipated contacts compared with the same period in 2015 to its ‘out-of-hours’ contact service.

The organisation had predicted an increase in the number of contacts to the helpline once it went 24/7, based on a pilot of the 24-hour service run in the later months of last year and which had no accompanying publicity.