An Garda Síochána has today launched a dedicated phone line for the reporting of child sexual abuse. This confidential freephone line will be manned on a 24 hour basis, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The introduction of the phone line follows a recommendation in the Garda Inspectorate Report ‘Responding to Child Sexual Abuse’.
The phone line number is 1800 555 222.
This is a freephone number meaning that there will be no cost to callers from calling this number.
An Garda Síochána encourages victims of child sexual abuse to report any such incident at the earliest opportunity including those incidents of an historical nature.
"The emotional and physical pain victims of child sexual abuse suffer make it difficult for them to come forward. The purpose of this phone line is to give people the confidence to report the abuse and know their complaint will be followed up, investigated thoroughly and dealt with in the strictest confidence” said Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan at the launch.
Ms. Noeline Blackwell, CEO, Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, said "Each year our statistics show that about half of our contacts and clients have suffered child sexual abuse. This dedicated resource is likely to make it easier for victims of these crimes to report to the Gardaí and ultimately should advance the process of bringing those who commit these crimes to justice. It will be a useful complement to our National 24-Hour Helpline which will continue to provide a confidential, non-judgmental service”
One in Four welcomes the launch of the Garda Child Sexual Abuse Reporting line Executive Director Maeve Lewis says: "Reporting a sexual crime to the Gardaí is difficult for survivors of sexual abuse. It takes great courage to walk into a Garda station and ask to speak to somebody and this is one of the reasons that sexual crimes are so under-reported. The 24 Hour line will make it easier to take that first step and will hopefully encourage many more people to come forward."
An Garda Síochána will be promoting the phone line on its website and its social media channels.
In conjunction with the launch of the phone line, An Garda Síochána has also published a guide on the options available to people wishing to report child sexual abuse and sexual crime. This guide is available on www.garda.ie.
