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New phone line established for child sex abuse victims

A new phone line has been set up for victims of child sex abuse who want to report it to Garda&ia...
Newstalk
Newstalk

13.00 2 Mar 2017


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New phone line established for...

New phone line established for child sex abuse victims

Newstalk
Newstalk

13.00 2 Mar 2017


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A new phone line has been set up for victims of child sex abuse who want to report it to Gardaí.

Callers can contact 1800-555-222 at any time of the day or night, 365 days a year.

Establishing the phone line was one of the recommendations of the Garda Inspectorate five years ago.

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Detective Superintendent Declan Daly explained: "Anyone who is the victim of child sex abuse can contact this line, or victims who are presently being abused can contact the line.

"[The] call is answered by call-takers in our communications centre. They record details of the abuse - the name, the phone number, the location of the abuse, and the date if known. That information then is passed to our districts, so that a detective can be assigned to investigate that."

The ISPCC welcomed the establishment of the new confidential phone line.

CEO Grainia Long said: “It is well documented that the early conversations that people have of their experience of disclosure of abuse – the treatment they receive, the sense of being believed, and of their right to disclose being upheld – has a great impact on their entire experience of reporting the abuse.

“Having a dedicated, confidential line, with trained staff who are and will become increasingly expert in supporting people who are reporting abuse is a real step forward to ensure that victims have the support they need from the earliest stages of reporting," she added.


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