Crime victims’ helpline saw ‘full impact of Covid’ as mental health referrals double

Nearly 5,000 people contacted the national Crime Victims’ Helpline (CVH) last year, and the number of referrals made by it to counselling and mental health services rose to almost 200, up more than 100 per cent on the previous year.

At the launch of its annual report for 2021 on Wednesday, the helpline’s executive director Michele Puckhaber said last year saw “the full impact of Covid on our service users”.

“Life was difficult and full of uncertainty due to the pandemic. When the trauma of a crime was added on to that, many people felt pushed to their breaking point.”

A total of 4,967 contacts, similar to the 2020 number, were made to the free helpline funded by the Department of Justice, and via text, email and post last year. From those, 196 referrals to various mental health services were made, a 102 per cent increase on the 2020 figure for referrals.

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Gillian Hussey, a retired District Court judge and patron of the CVH, said: “By answering calls, addressing queries, providing information, making referrals and offering much-needed emotional support, Crime Victims’ Helpline staff and volunteers have offered light, hope and healing to victims of crime. I can give no higher praise.”

The helpline heard from victims of more than 28 different types of crime, including coercive control, criminal damage and online fraud. The most common crimes experienced by contacts in 2021 included assault, harassment, criminal damage, rape/sexual assault, theft and fraud.

The number of contacts to CVH has increased by 21 per cent in the five years since 2016. Most — 64 per cent — of the contacts last year were female and 36 per cent were male.

Ireland has more than 70 organisations providing services to victims of crime but “gaps still remain”, Ms Puckhaber said.

Victims of general crime in Co Dublin, who accounted for 39 per cent of contacts with the helpline, have been without in-person support for over a decade, while other pockets of the country also have inadequate supports for victims of general crime as well as for domestic abuse and sexual violence, she noted.

The complaints of victims included they were treated without respect, not provided with translation services, kept in the dark about the status of an investigation or re-traumatised by significant delays in the criminal justice system.

Noting that the European Commission has begun a review of victims’ rights, Ms Puckhaber said Ireland “must accelerate its compliance with the current directive, not just to the letter of the law but to the spirit of it”.

In addition to the phone service, CrimeVictimsHelpline.ie provides information about coping with different types of crime, the criminal justice system and victims’ rights, and has a searchable database of victim support services in Ireland.

The CVH can be contacted on freephone 116 006; by texting 085-1337711; or by emailing info@crimevictimshelpline.ie. Crime Victims’ Helpline is also on Facebook and Twitter (@crimevictimshelpline).