VICTIM SUPPORT: HELPLINES ARE dealing with a “huge surge” in calls following the publication of the Cloyne report.
The
Dublin Rape Crisis Centre said more than 300 calls had been
received between their organisation and fellow helplines, Connect, One
in Four and Towards Healing in a 15-hour period following the release of
the Cloyne Report on Wednesday.
Chief executive of the centre
Ellen O’Malley-Dunlop said there would “usually be only a smattering of
calls over a night, maybe 10”.
The HSE has set up a special Cloyne
diocese helpline to co-ordinate the different services available to
those who have been affected.
A spokeswoman said that qualified counsellors were on hand to assess and refer on callers to where they would get the best help.
“The
kind of calls we are getting in are from people who were affected by
abuse but also we have a lot of calls from people who want to express
their hurt or anger,” the spokeswoman said.
Ms O’Malley-Dunlop described the stories coming out about what people had been put through as “quite horrendous”.
“Sometimes
they can’t find the words. We get silent calls, which is something we
are used to. People pick up the phone but then just find it so
difficult.”