The Scottish Government

2004

CONTENTS

SUMMARY
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Establishment of the Helpline
The Research
Structure of the report
CHAPTER TWO: OPERATION OF THE HELPLINE
The service provided
Staffing and management
Volunteer recruitment, training and support
Recruitment
Training
Quality Control
Volunteer Support
Volunteers' experiences
Publicity
Discussion
CHAPTER THREE: CALLS TO THE HELPLINE
Level of use
Annual comparisons
Monthly comparisons
Time of calls
Location of caller
Characteristics of callers
Characteristics of Victims
The Helpline service provided
Access to the Helpline
Discussion
CHAPTER FOUR: FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
Management structure and liaison
Links with other agencies
Development of Helpline services
Ethnic Minority groups
A 24-hour service
An additional line
Improving services to children
Increasing the number of paid staff
Monitoring and Evaluation Conclusion and Recommendations

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Louise Brown would like to thank all those who participated in the research, particularly Lynda Bell, Kathleen Frew and Liz Kelly from the Helpline office who devoted a lot of time and energy in providing information about the Helpline and views on future development.

The researcher is also deeply indebted to the volunteers who recorded details about the calls they received during the research period and to those volunteers who completed a questionnaire or were interviewed about their views and experiences.

Thanks are also due to North Ayrshire Women's Aid and Scottish Women's Aid for providing their views on the operation and future development of the Helpline, to Thus Plc and to Ian Clark, Lorna Belfall and Jillian Gilchrist of the Scottish Executive for their support.