Men now account for 10 to 12 per cent of people contacting rape crisis centres, according to the national co-ordinator of the Network of Rape Crisis Centres. The network has 12 member-centres around the State.
Ms Fiona Neary said the centres had seen a dramatic rise in the number of male callers in the last five to 10 years. Men would have accounted for 3 to 4 per cent of clients in the early 1990s.
According to the Sligo Rape Crisis Centre, men account for one in five callers, while the Limerick centre has recorded a figure of 15 to 20 per cent for male callers. Ms Neary said the majority of male callers were survivors of sexual abuse, but some were male prostitutes who had experienced sexual violence.
Rape crisis centres have also found themselves dealing with men who were abused in the past but had not realised it was abuse until recently. She said the rape crisis centres had dealt with few male clients abused by women.
Ms Neary said it was difficult to say if the increase in male callers meant more men were being sexually abused. "It's now seen as much more safe for male survivors of abuse to come forward. Previously there was a feeling they would be dismissed or ridiculed."
She said there were some regional variations and these could be explained by a court case involving an abuser, or by the presence of a former industrial school in the area. "One abuser could abuse from 200 to 300 victims in a lifetime so it's not surprising to see so many from one area coming forward."
