Numbers reporting sexual abuse in childhood up 12% last year, One in Four says

There was a 12 per cent increase last year in the number of men and women coming forward who had experienced sexual abuse in childhood, according to One in Four.

In its annual report for last year, the abuse survivors’ support organisation says it supported 753 men and women, up from 673 in 2021. It also provided support to 56 men who had caused sexual harm to children.

“We believe that survivors deserve access to expert services in a timely way when they reach out for support,” One in Four said following publication of the report. “Sadly, the demand for psychotherapy services always exceeds our ability to respond immediately.”

The group said the broadcast of the Blackrock Boys documentary on RTÉ last November encouraged hundreds of men who had been abused in religious-run schools to disclose their abuse.

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“One in Four have consulted with the Department of Education and the ongoing scoping inquiry,” the report said. “We are also supporting many survivors to engage with the religious orders and with the scoping inquiry. To meet this increased demand, we received funding from the Department of Justice to employ an additional advocacy case manager.”

The group delivered individual and group psychotherapy sessions to 172 clients last year and met 94 people for a first assessment.

About 41 per cent of clients were abused in their own family, while 43 per cent of the clients were men, which was up from just over a third. The report also shows eight families attended the group’s family support programme.

The group said its waiting list time for psychotherapy on December 31st last was 8½ months, an improvement on 2021 when the wait was more than a year.

“We were supported by Tusla to create a new position, waiting list case manager, who provided support and crisis counselling to people on the list,” One in Four said.

The organisation’s advocacy case managers supported 563 survivors to engage with the criminal and civil justice systems and child protection services. They accompanied 34 clients through criminal trials.

“Despite many positive developments in the law governing the conduct and process of the trial of sexual offences, many of our clients continue to experience their engagement with the criminal justice system as re-traumatising, demeaning and humiliating,” it said.

Some 56 men who had caused sexual harm to children attended the group’s prevention programme, a core project designed to keep children safe.

“Increased access to the web has created a changing landscape where growing numbers of people are accessing images and videos of child sexual exploitation,” the report added.