Surge in Galway callers to national abuse helpline

Galway Bay fm newsroom – Over one in ten callers to a national helpline for victims of abuse in the first six months of this year were from County Galway.
The majority of callers to Connect Counselling reported abuse in the family home.
Connect Counselling is a HSE-run service which provides a free out-of-hours helpline for abuse survivors.
In the first six months of this year, 312 people contacted the service from County Galway.
Of these, 50% were under 50 years old, and just over one third were men.
40% of Galway callers say they experienced abuse in the family home, while a further 20% were subjected to institutional abuse.
Nationally, almost 70% of the 2,600 callers to contact the service so far this year reporter being physically, sexually or emotionally abused.
Service Manager Theresa Merrigan says there’s been a high volume of calls from Galway and the West following the Tuam mother and baby home controversy.