SEXUAL ADDICTION

One third of the profits made on the Playboy magazine in the UK are made in Ireland.
Approx 13 million was spent on prostitution in the South of Ireland in 1999.
The average person between the age of 8-18 sees 90,000 sexual images.
There is growing concern in counselling circles about the level of sexual addiction in Ireland.
52% of PG programs on television contain high sexual content.

STD’s

Over 1,000 teenagers were diagnosed with STI’s in 2004.
The number of people contracting STDs increased by 10% over a six-month period in Ireland last year.
Since 1989, the country has seen an almost 300% increase in the amount of reported sexually transmitted cases.

RAPE

According to the Dublin Rape Crisis centre:
Only 39.5% of people raped are raped by strangers.
This year has seen an 100% increase in first time callers to report rape or sexual assault. There is a 20% rise in the amount of women attending sexual assault treatment centres Of the 15,000 calls to the centre, 42% were related to child sexual abuse.
4% of reported rapes are female, while 16% are male.

EATING DISORDERS

The Department of Health estimates that up to 200,000 people in Ireland may be affected by eating disorders. An estimated 400 new cases emerge each year, representing 80 deaths annually
According to a 2007 study of Irish children and adolescents, 1.2% of Irish girls may be at risk of developing anorexia nervosa, with 2% at risk of developing bulimia nervosa
Based on the KIDSCREEN study of children in thirteen countries, Irish children aged 12-18 ranked twelfth out of the thirteen countries in terms of self-perception score

71.4% of Irish adolescents feel adversely affected by media portrayal of body weight and shape, with more than a quarter (25.6%) believing it to be far too thin

The number of young people under the age of 14 who develop anorexia is on the increase.
Nine times more females than males suffer from eating disorders.
84,000 Irish people are affected by anorexia
effects of anorexia with anorexia:
• difficult to become pregnant,
• developing osteoporosis later in life.
• Personality and mood swings may also take a while to settle,
• emotional difficulties
• extreme weight loss.
• Constipation and abdominal pains.
• Dizzy spells
• fainting.
• Swollen stomach, face and ankles.
• Downy hair on the body; loss of hair on the head when recovering.
• Poor blood circulation and feeling cold.
• Dry, rough, discoloured skin.
• Disrupted menstrual cycles.
• In men, loss of libido.
• Loss of bone mass and, eventually osteoporosis (brittle bones)
• Psychological signs of anorexia.
• Changes in personality and mood swings.
• Rituals attached to eating, such as cutting food into tiny pieces
• Secrecy.
• Restlessness and hyperactivity

252,000 Irish people are affected by bulimia.
Effects of bulimia include:
• Malnutrition.
• Serious heart, kidney and liver damage.
• Intestinal ulcers.
• Ruptured stomach.
• Tears of the esophagus.
• Dehydration.
• Tooth/gum corrosion.
• Depression.
• Shame and guilt.
• Mood swings.
• Low self-esteem.
• Withdrawal.
• Perfectionism.
• Impaired family and social relationships.
• “All or nothing” thinking.