A television drama with a storyline about rape resulted in a huge increase in calls to a helpline operated by one of the State's busiest rape counselling services.
Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) said it had seen a rise in the number of calls following the screening of the drama Damageon RTÉ on Sunday night.
There were 42 "genuine" counselling calls relating to the programme and a further 32 calls, mostly hang-ups, the centre's chief executive Ellen O'Malley-Dunlop said. She said the hang-ups often occur when people find they cannot speak when the call is answered.
"On Monday there was a steady flow of calls also relating to the programme. The people who called the helpline were all very upset but found themselves, because of the programme . . . able to break the silence which some had kept for over 10 years," Ms O'Malley-Dunlop said.
"Television is indeed a very powerful medium. Rape and sexual assault are the most under-reported crimes in our country. We saw in the drama . . . the complexities surrounding this heinous crime, dealt with in a sensitive realistic and responsible way."
The DRCC said that, as a result of consultation with RTÉ and the drama's production company, the centre's helpline number was screened immediately after the programme.
"This resulted in a huge increase in the volume of calls to the helpline. Extra counsellors were made available, and in the hour and a half after the programme over 42 genuine counselling calls were received."
The DRCC helpline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and the number is 1800-778888.