Dublin Rape Crisis Centre releases ‘shocking’ report

THE Dublin Rape Crisis Centre’s (DRCC) Annual Report has revealed the highest number of calls to their 24-hour helpline since 2009.

A total of 12,192 contacts were answered by the DRCC’s National 24-Hour Helpline, including 9,614

“genuine

? calls, an increase of five per cent compared with 2012 figures.

A total of 43 per cent of these calls relate to adult rape, an increase of three per cent compared to 2012.

The report also indicates that 231 victims of rape and sexual assault were accompanied by trained DRCC volunteers at the Rotunda Sexual Assault Treatment Unit in 2013.

In introducing the report, the Chairperson of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre Dr Frances Gardiner, told how the organisation continued to fulfill its mandate of responding to the needs of victims of sexual violence, despite the challenge of further shrinking resources in 2013.

“Management and staff inevitably struggled amidst burgeoning workloads to meet the demands of an expanding diverse client base,

? she said.

“Analysis of the figures confirms how unrelenting the sinister world of sexual crime is, traumatising men and women in its wake.

“The statistics in DRCC’s Annual Report 2013 are indeed shocking. It is crucial that victims can be confident that DRCC’s professional help is available to them at a time of deep personal trauma. This is not a time to cut funding to Rape Crisis Centres.

?

Of the 12,192 contacts handled by the DRCC’s National 24-Hour Helpline in 2013 a total of 3,928 calls were first time contacts, representing 41 per cent of total genuine contacts.

Other findings include the fact that the majority of callers (78 per cent) were female and 22 per cent were men; 43 per cent of calls related to adult rape; nine per cent of calls related to adult sexual assault; 53 per cent of calls related to adult sexual violence, including rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and trafficking and 47 per cent of calls related to childhood sexual abuse, including ritual abuse and suspected abuse.

A huge majority (72 per cent) of callers were from the Dublin area, while 28 per cent were from 12 other counties.

Ellen O’Malley Dunlop, the CEO of DRCC said the National 24 Hour Helpline (1 800778888) continued to be a tremendous resource for victims of adult sexual violence and adult victims of childhood sexual abuse.

“In 2009 the calls to the helpline reached an all time high due to the publication of the Ryan and Murphy Reports,

? Ms O’Malley Dunlop said.

“In 2013 there were no such damning publications but the helpline staff and trained volunteers processed the highest number of calls to the helpline since 2009.

“There were 3,928 first time callers and the number of repeat contacts in 2013 at 4,955, was the highest in nine years.

?