MORE than 900 adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse attended services provided by One In Four last year, with a rise in the percentage who suffered abuse within the family and a drop in the numbers abused by clergy.
The overall number of clients seen in 2010 is down about 100 on the figures for 2009, the year in which the Ryan and Murphy reports into clerical child sex abuse were published.
However, the figure of 931 is double that seen in 2008. Of the 182 clients who attended counselling, 48% had been abused within the family, compared to 27% abused by somebody in the Catholic Church.
A further 34% were abused by family friends, neighbours and professionals, while 2% had been abused by a stranger.
According to the report, the majority of people contacting One In Four did so seeking assistance in contacting gardaí, reporting a child protection concern to the HSE or attending a criminal trial.
Of this client group, 45% had been abused within the Catholic Church and 17% had been abused within the family.
The organisation also runs its Phoenix Sex Offender Treatment Programme, which worked with 21 men last year. Of those, 11 had abused children in their own family.
Maeve Lewis, the director of One In Four, said any information regarding an abuser who could still be abusing other children was passed on to child protection services.
"We have to balance the needs of vulnerable and distressed adults who have reached out for help against the real possibility that the person who sexually abused them is currently abusing other children," she said.
"We believe this information must be passed to the child protection services if we are honestly to intervene in the cycle of abuse."
She said the One In Four model of assisting a victim of sex abuse could be used nationwide but needed cooperation between services and adequate resourcing.
She also said Ireland was undergoing a cultural change in the way it dealt with abuse. "We are looking at a cultural shift where it will be the responsibility of every Irish adult to act if they are aware of a child who is being abused."
However, the figure of 931 is double that seen in 2008. Of the 182 clients who attended counselling, 48% had been abused within the family, compared to 27% abused by somebody in the Catholic Church.
A further 34% were abused by family friends, neighbours and professionals, while 2% had been abused by a stranger.
According to the report, the majority of people contacting One In Four did so seeking assistance in contacting gardaí, reporting a child protection concern to the HSE or attending a criminal trial.
Of this client group, 45% had been abused within the Catholic Church and 17% had been abused within the family.
The organisation also runs its Phoenix Sex Offender Treatment Programme, which worked with 21 men last year. Of those, 11 had abused children in their own family.
Maeve Lewis, the director of One In Four, said any information regarding an abuser who could still be abusing other children was passed on to child protection services.
"We have to balance the needs of vulnerable and distressed adults who have reached out for help against the real possibility that the person who sexually abused them is currently abusing other children," she said.
"We believe this information must be passed to the child protection services if we are honestly to intervene in the cycle of abuse."
She said the One In Four model of assisting a victim of sex abuse could be used nationwide but needed cooperation between services and adequate resourcing.
She also said Ireland was undergoing a cultural change in the way it dealt with abuse. "We are looking at a cultural shift where it will be the responsibility of every Irish adult to act if they are aware of a child who is being abused."