There has been a massive increase in the number of people contacting the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre in the past 12 months according to new figures.
The organisation published its annual report on Tuesday and revealed that it received almost 14,000 contacts last year alone.
The DRCC has called for more services to cope with the increasing number of calls in what they describe as a "growing problem for public health".
They have revealed that they will also launch a new online health initiative which will start on a pilot basis in the coming months.
The figures show that the DRCC gets an average of 270 calls to its centre each week.
Majority of the callers were female and more than half were first-time contacts.
The DRCC said that 45% of the calls to the freephone service related to adult rape, while one-third was to report childhood sexual abuse.
Chairperson, Ann Marie Gill said that at the midway point of the year, the demand for the centre's services was higher than it has been for years.
She said that this is because more people are finding the courage to talk about the abuse and to seek help.
She added that it was impossible to pinpoint whether the demand for their services was down to an increase in the level of rape or because there is a growing awareness around sexual violence.
The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre can be contacted on 1800 778 888.
