Noticeable increase in men seeking support
New services by county for Roscommon Safe Link.
Roscommon Safe Link (RSL) dealt with 239 new clients last year, comprising 213 adults and 26 children, according to the group’s annual report. The report also noted a “noticeable increase in men seeking support”.
Most of these new clients came from County Roscommon, 170 people, with a further 30 coming from County Leitrim, 12 from County Sligo and County Galway. Counties Longford, Clare, Louth, Offaly, Mayo, Dublin, and Donegal also accounted for some clients.
Of the 239, the largest portion of referrals came from self-referrals (19.2%), followed closely by family referrals (17.2%), and Gardaí at 11.3%. Other significant sources include referrals from friends (11.7%), court services (6.7%), and family resource centres at 6.3%. There was also smaller but still notable contributions from social workers (7.9%), Women’s Aid (3.3%) and other domestic violence services (2.9%).
In 2024, 9,347 contacts were made with the service, including 1,072 crisis phone calls. There were also 3,562 kept appointments, with support services accounting for the largest portion of appointments at 67.6%. Counselling appointments followed with 24.7%. Child Therapeutic Services made up the smallest share at 7.7%.
Last year, RSL made a total of 1,126 outgoing referrals to various services. The largest share of referrals was made to the Gardaí, accounting for 19.6% of the total.
“Solicitors followed closely with 19.0%, showing a strong need for legal support. Other major referrals included the Legal Aid Board at 10.5% and court services at 10.3%, further highlighting the legal and justice-related needs of clients,” the 2024 annual report said.
According to the report, out of the active support clients, one was male and 9 out of 10 were female. Separately, two out of 10 active counselling clients were male, with 8 out of 10 female.
Furthermore, four out of 10 of the active children clients were male and six out of 10 were female.
The RSL said that it was vital that male survivors were not overlooked. In 2024, male support clients increased by 64.7%, while female support clients decreased by 18.9% compared to 2023, the report added.
