Women in Kilkenny can now call local domestic abuse support helpline free of charge

Amber, the domestic abuse organisation for women and children living in Kilkenny and Carlow, have announced that local women making calls to its 24/7 support helpline will no longer be charged.

The organisation has rolled out its new freephone number - 1800-819999. The new number is the result of a partnership between Amber and local firm Business IT Solutions (BITS).

BITS are sponsoring the new freephone number, enabling women who do not have credit on their phone or have limited access to money or credit to access specialist support via Amber’s 24/7 helpline free of charge.

"An estimated 89% of women in Ireland who report domestic abuse and coercive control disclose they are also experiencing financial abuse," said Lisa Morris, Manager, Amber.

"Many women’s access to phone credit is withheld or controlled by a perpetrator, while other women are unable to pay their phone bills because of the financial abuse being perpetrated against them by abusive partners or family members.

"While calls to our previous Helpline were charged at the standard landline rate, we understood that, for some women, this charge was a potential barrier to them reaching out to us for support," she added.

"Unfortunately, as a chronically underfunded local domestic abuse organisation, operating a freephone number was not financially viable for us - we’re extremely grateful to BITS for sponsoring our new helpline number, 1800-819999."

Amber’s 24/7 Helpline received 562 calls from women last year. These women called to talk in confidence and/or to receive specialist support and information. Women who called the helpline were also referred, as required, to Amber’s other support services including emergency refuge, court support and accompaniment, counselling, parent support and to the organisation’s children’s service for supports for their children.

There were an additional 44 calls in 2024 from concerned family members and friends of women experiencing all forms of domestic abuse. Amber’s Helpline experienced a cumulative increase of 19% in calls over the period from 2022 to 2024.

"We have worked with Amber for many years keeping their network and their data safe, which is vital to the services they provide, and have always been amazed by the work they do," said Sinead Meyler, Account Manager, BITS.

"Sponsoring the new 24/7 freephone helpline is something we are honoured to do, as it helps remove a real barrier for women seeking support when they need it most and we are proud to be a part of it."

Amber also recently announced a change to its brand name. The organisation, who previously traded as Amber Women’s Refuge, will now trade as Amber. Amber made the decision to rebrand to better reflect the full range of supports, both refuge and community-based, it offers to women and children living in Kilkenny and Carlow. A new logo representing the protecting and healing properties of the precious stone Amber was also unveiled to coincide with the change in brand name.

Women who call Amber’s previous 24/7 Helpline number will be automatically redirected to the new freephone number for a period of several months to allow a comprehensive transition to the new helpline.

Contact Amber at 1800-819999 or www.amberservices.ie