Country Profile Ireland

General Country Information

Summary

There is one national women’s helpline in Ireland which is free of charge, available 24/7, and provides multilingual support. Additionally, there are 37 local helplines run by specialist domestic violence support services. There are 20 women-only shelters in Ireland with a capacity of 159 beds as well as 37 women’s centres operating as specialised domestic violence centres providing a wide range of support services. There are 17 rape crisis centres in Ireland and six sexual assault treatment units providing support to survivors of sexualised violence. Provisions on primary prevention are included in the national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and there is a specific budget allocated to such activities. Cuan, the State Agency for Domestic, Sexual & Gender-Based Violence, was established in February 2024 and collects data on women’s specialist services. A new portal is currently under development to showcase this data which, when gathered, will give a more accurate picture of violence against women in Ireland. In addition to this, Safe Ireland is engaging with the Central Statistics Office on the first ever national prevalence survey.

Women’s Specialist Services

There is one national women’s helpline in Ireland, the 24hr National Freephone Helpline (tel.: +353 1800341900) which is run by Women’s Aid. This helpline is free of charge, operates 24/7, and provides services in 240 languages through the telephone interpretation service. Therefore, Ireland does meet the Istanbul Convention minimum standards for the provision of a national women’s helpline. A chat service is also available which operates Monday to Friday from 10:00–13:00 and 19:00–22:00 as well as Saturday from 12:00–15:00 and 19:00–22:00 and Sunday from 11:00–13:00 and 19:00–22:00. This helpline mainly provides support for survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence. Funding for the helpline comes from statutory and foundation support from Cuan, Pobal and the Community Foundation of Ireland. It is also supported by the public through donations and fundraising. The three most common forms of violence reported by callers to the women’s helplines in 2024 were emotional/psychological abuse, which was the most common, followed by physical abuse, economic abuse, and sexualised abuse. The helpline received a total of 24,396 calls in 2024

Additionally, there are 37 local helplines run by specialist domestic violence support services which are part of the Safe Ireland Network. Since the Women’s Aid National Freephone Helpline is the only accredited 24/7 service for domestic violence, it acts as a direct referral to all other services when required. All other local services themselves offer helpline support to a greater or lesser extent, some of which are available 24/7. Most are funded through state funding in whole or in part.

There are 20 women-only shelters in Ireland with 159 available beds. In 2024, 12 new units were delivered and a further 54 units are under construction or due for refurbishment in 2025.¹ The Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence Agency, Cuan, is coordinating the delivery of these additional shelter spaces. It is not known how many women-only shelters offer 24/7 access. Women are expected to pay for their accommodation; this can range from approximately €30–€60 per week, but inability to pay is commonly considered by services.² The average length of stay in women-only shelters varies between services from six weeks to up to six months. Some services have a timeframe of up to three months while others will put no limit on it and instead will determine the length of stay depending on the need, or the availability of move-on options in the locality. There is often a demand to stay longer particularly because of the current housing crisis and the lack of move-on accommodation options. The types of in-house services most often provided by women-only shelters are counselling/psychological support, referrals/collaboration with other services, practical advice, casework, and legal advice.

All women-only shelters are equipped to support older women. Some women-only shelters can be accessed by and are accessible to homeless women, women with physical or cognitive disabilities, women with substance abuse issues, and women with older sons (14 years and above). None of the women-only shelters in Ireland can accommodate women with uncertain residence permits/undocumented women. There are no specialised shelters supporting particular groups of survivors nor women survivors or those at risk of specific forms of violence in Ireland. Women at risk of other forms of family violence, such as forced marriage and honour-based violence can request a place in a women-only shelter which is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Some services for women with disabilities are available but many shelters are in older buildings that require investment for physical accessibility, and many are not designed to accommodate neurodivergent people. Furthermore, if a woman is dealing with substance abuse issues, in most situations, women-only shelters will not accommodate her. Other shelters can accommodate a woman who is in a treatment programme, provided that she is not actively using drugs and/or alcohol.

Funding for women-only shelters comes from the state and donations. Currently, women-only shelter services are primarily funded by Cuan and are run by independent NGOs with a feminist and gender-specific approach. Women-only shelters are located in most regions of Ireland and currently, nine counties have been identified as having no shelter spaces. The main reason for having to decline referrals was no space or capacity to support the survivor. The most common forms of violence reported by survivors to women-only shelters in 2024 was emotional, physical and economic violence.

There are a number of other shelters in Ireland which can provide support to survivors of violence against women, such as homeless services that are not exclusive for women and provide accommodation more generally to families and individuals, but the exact number is unknown. There are two services that accommodate women (and their children) experiencing addiction and/or homelessness, but these are not specifically related to an experience of violence. Some services are short-term (night by night only) and some offer more medium to long-term accommodation. While most services support people with complex needs, including trauma, very few of these shelters are gender-sensitive and lack expertise on the dynamics of domestic violence or the risks and impacts of sexualised violence. Some of these shelters offer 24/7 access.

There are 37 women’s centres in Ireland which are all part of Safe Ireland. Regarding residential support services, 20 women’s centres offer both non-residential and residential services and operate also as women-only shelters. All women’s centres provide legal advice (although this may be more legal information rather than direct advice from lawyers), financial and social welfare support/advocacy, housing advice, referrals, and representation at court/police/social services. The High-Risk Support Project run by Women’s Aid with the police provides support in post separation cases where there is a risk of serious harm or murder. Furthermore, 20 centres offer counselling/psychological support. Women’s centres also provide specialist support for survivors of sexualised violence, including specialist forensic and medical care, needs assessment, specialist psychological care, specialist sexualised violence advocacy services and community awareness and education for prevention.

While all women’s centres can support women with uncertain residence permits/undocumented women, there can be challenges to providing shelter accommodation, but other services can be provided, such as casework. The Immigrant Council of Ireland and Migrant Rights Centre Ireland provide support for survivors of trafficking. AkiDwA migrant women’s organisation provides support to survivors of female genital mutilation.

All women’s centres are run by NGOs and are located in most regions of Ireland. However, there continue to be some geographical places that are poorly served, and there is an ongoing piece of work to develop into these communities whereby a national services plan is to be developed by Cuan, the Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence Agency. Women’s centres are funded by the state as well as through donations. It should be noted that no centres are fully state funded; shortfalls, innovation and core roles not recognised by the state are funded from a variety of other sources.

There are services for survivors of sexualised violence in Ireland including 17 rape crisis centres (RCCs) and six sexual assault treatment units (SATUs). Since 2022, one new RCC has opened in West Cork. However, availability and consistency of services vary significantly depending on geographic location and local capacity. All RCCs provide legal advice, needs assessment, specialist psychological care, specialist sexualised violence advocacy series as well as community awareness and education for prevention. Delivery is often shaped by individual management decisions and local resources rather than through a coordinated national framework. This results in regional disparities in service access and quality. Survivors are able to access services in the location of their choosing, regardless of where they live. RCCs in Ireland receive funding from the state as well as donations. Whilst the majority of clients are women and girls, RCCs are open to everyone from the age of 14 onwards.

The six SATUs provide clinical, forensic and supportive care for those who have experienced sexualised violence. These units operate with varied opening hours, referral criteria, and availability across regions, with some only accepting police referrals. Where SATUs are not accessible, emergency departments can provide crisis medical care, but training on responding to sexualised violence is inconsistent and often inadequate. All units are operated by the state Health Service Executive which is financed entirely through public funds. Clients are also offered a needs assessment which may include, for example, assessing special measures in court or an International Protection Risk Vulnerability Assessment.

In addition, vital support is offered by grassroot community organisations whose core remit may not be sexualised violence but who nonetheless play a critical role, particularly for groups such as LGBTQ+ people, members of the traveller community, migrants, and others. These services often operate without formal recognition or integration into the national system, leaving key survivor support networks effectively invisible in official data and planning. While RCCs offer national geographic coverage, physical access remains a significant barrier in many rural areas due to poor public transport infrastructure. Survivors in isolated communities may be unable to reach in-person services, compounding trauma and exclusion. The national response to sexualised violence depends not only on recognised services like RCCs, but also on the broader ecosystem of informal, community-based supports and emergency healthcare services. A critical gap remains in the provision of national accompaniment services for survivors engaged in the justice process. While this service exists in some areas, it remains inequitable. Survivors in many parts of the country have no access to consistent court or police accompaniment or legal process support. Rape Crisis Ireland has been delivering national standardised training and currently administers funding for a volunteer-based, ad-hoc accompaniment service that responds to need as it arises. In recent years, the sector has worked to transition to a more professional model with dedicated roles and there is one such service in the capital city that is funded.

The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre runs the national helpline for survivors of rape and sexualised violence, the National Rape Crisis 24hr Helpline (tel.: +353 1800778888). This helpline is free of charge, available 24/7 and fully funded by the state. For those who are deaf or hard of hearing, a text service operates Monday to Friday from 8:00-18:30 (tel.: +353 868238443) and a webchat service is available Monday to Friday, 10:00-17:00 (excluding Bank Holidays). All regional RCCs also operate a local helpline during working hours which is run by volunteers and funded through local fundraising. These local services are often the first point of contact for survivors, as well as for professionals such the police, social workers, and SATUs. Furthermore, there are two helplines run by NGOs that specialise in services for child survivors of sexualised violence. The first one is run by the organisation CARI which runs a part-time helpline (tel.: +353 1890924567) and the second is run by the NGO One in Four (tel.: +353 16624070) which provides support for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

There are also a number of other specialised services offering support to children, families, and adult survivors of sexualised violence in Ireland. Namely, there is one Barnahus children’s service run by the state, which also runs an adult child sexual abuse counselling service. Additionally, there are two NGOs, One in Four and Ruhama, working with survivors of sexualised violence and broadly working from a feminist and gender-sensitive approach (although not only working with women). Ruhama works specifically with women in the sex industry and survivors of trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation and runs a dedicated helpline (tel.: +353 1800020202) as well as employment support service for women who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation (the Bridge to Work Programme).

Provisions on primary prevention are included in official documents such as the “Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual & Gender-Based Violence 2022–2026”³ and “Implementation Plan 2024”.⁴ There is a specific budget allocated to primary prevention activities in Ireland, which are funded by Cuan the National State Agency for Domestic, Sexual & Gender-Based Violence on a rolling basis, and NGOs advise and collaborate on these programmes. In addition, there are a range of local or sector-specific initiatives that have partial state funding. Available primary prevention activities include school-based primary prevention programmes, bystander intervention training, and awareness-raising campaigns or programmes. The programmes in schools are partially, but not wholly, related to primary prevention. Some primary prevention initiatives are at the early stages of analysis and so fall more firmly into awareness raising rather than structural change. Available evaluations are conducted at a national level by Cuan under the guidance of the Department of Justice. Safe Ireland liaises with other organisations to coordinate primary prevention activities such as MEND (Men’s Development Network) and Move – Men Overcoming Violence, which provide information and assistance for people experiencing domestic violence in Ireland.

1. Of these, 22 are expected to be delivered in Dublin and Louth, according to Houses of the Oireachtas. ↩︎
2. This information comes from the WAVE Country Report 2023. ↩︎
3. Available here: https://assets.gov.ie/static/documents/third-national-domestic-sexual-and-gender-based-violence-strategy.pdf ↩︎
4. Available here: https://assets.gov.ie/static/documents/dsgbv-implementation-plan.pdf ↩︎