Majority of 99 daily callers to suicide helpline are women

An average of 99 calls a day were received by Irish suicide helpline 1Life between January and November.

The organisation said most calls to its 24-hour helpline were from people aged 31 to 45 years.

The majority of callers – 62 per cent – were women looking for suicidal crisis counselling, listening support or referrals.

One-fifth of callers reported a background of abuse or violence, while more than one-third reported mental health factors.

The helpline’s freephone number is 1800 247 100 or people can text the word HELP to 51444.