About the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre

The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre was established in 1979 and is a national organisation offering a wide range of services to women and men who are affected by rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment or childhood sexual abuse. The services include a national 24-hour helpline, one to one counselling, court accompaniment, outreach services, training, awareness raising and lobbying.

Over the past 25 years we have developed and expanded our services to include a 24-hour telephone helpline staffed by trained counsellors which operates 365 days of the year. Although the Centre is based in Dublin, our counsellors take calls from all over the country.

The Centre takes calls from women and men of all ages who have experienced or want to talk about the effects of any kind of sexual violence.

In the last 25 years the number of people contacting the crisis line for help has increased from 76 in 1979 to 14,412 in 2004. In the year 2004, of those seeking help 88% were female and 12% were male. The total umber of calls to the Centre in 2004 was 37,049.

To mark its 25th Anniversary, a book outlining the history of the Centre was published and launched at the Centre's 25th Anniversary Conference. "Without Fear: 25 Years of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre" was written by award winning journalist Susan McKay. “Without Fear” is the first full account of Dublin's Rape Crisis Centre. At times horrific, it details the shameful scandals of key high-profile rape cases in the seventies, eighties and nineties, offering definitive insights on the battle for better services, longer sentences and legal amendments. "Without Fear" is available from all leading Irish bookshops.

Currently the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre employs a staff of 30 in its various Departments. These include Reception, Administration, Accounts, Fundraising, Education, Counselling and Volunteer Services.

A staff of 11 fully qualified counsellors provide a one-to-one counselling and therapy service Monday to Friday from 8am until 7pm and on Saturdays from 9am until 4pm. Our counsellors mainly see clients in our Centre in Leeson Street but we also offer an outreach service in Coolock on Thursdays and Fridays. The aim of the Centre is to continue to expand our outreach service so that counselling and therapy is accessible to as many people as possible. Our counsellors also offer a variety of groups to clients of the Centre.

The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre employs five staff telephone counsellors who offer support, information and hope to the hundreds of women and men who contact us monthly. Our telephone counsellors are aware that they are often the first point of contact with our service and their aim is to deal with all calls in confidence and as sensitively a s possible. All appointments are made through the telephone counselling department.

In addition, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre has a team of more than 70 trained volunteers who provide telephone counselling outside of office hours. Our volunteers will also accompany and offer support to women and men who attend the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit in the Rotunda hospital.

We also offer an outreach programme where specially trained volunteers will visit schools, community centres, etc. to provide information and also to promote awareness of all aspects of sexual violence.

Here in the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre we are committed to healing the hurt of rape and sexual abuse. Our aim is to offer a safe and confidential space where women and men of all ages can be listened to and supported without shame or self-blame.

If you are reading this web page and are affected by any of the issues, we encourage you to take the next step and call us in confidence.

We are here to help you heal from the hurt of rape and sexual abuse.