Papua New Guinea’s first free telephone counselling line has received nearly 250 calls in its first month of operations, as the country struggles to deal with “extreme” levels of domestic and sexual violence.

The hotline has received 246 phone calls since starting on 20 August and nearly 50% of callers were men.

Papua New Guinea is widely considered to have the worst rates of sexual and domestic violence in the world, excluding war zones. Domestic violence was first criminalised under the Family Protection Act in 2013 and many citizens do not yet realise it is illegal.

The hotline was devised by Childfund Australia, the Family Health Institute and PNG’s anti-domestic violence committee to try and to the prevalence of the crime.

“There’s definitely a need for it,” said Lauren Hart, a Volunteer Services Abroad volunteer working with ChildFund on the hotline.

“It is very, very clear that there are huge rates of violent crime,” she said, adding that the rates would be considered “extreme” by global standards. “The majority of the population, because it is such a norm here, don’t even realise that violence is not normal.”

Nine local women were given training in crisis counselling and now field all incoming phone calls, which are answered seven days a week. The hotline operates in Pidgin, English and Motu.

Hart, an experienced counsellor who previously worked at a crisis counselling service for women in Tasmania, was surprised by the high number of men who accessed the support line.

Some rang reporting behavioural issues, expressing anger and frustration at their partners for failing to behave in a way that they deemed acceptable. They were given conflict resolution strategies and directed away from using violence as a way of ending arguments.

Ending the deeply entrenched cycle of violence in PNG is one of hotline’s greatest challenges, according to Hart.

Other men rang because of sexual and violence-related trauma in their own pasts. Thirteen men identified themselves as survivors of abuse. Some had never spoken of their childhood abuse before contacting the hotline.

“That was definitely surprising,” Hart said. “We expected women to call ... but it’s not something that men openly discuss here, violence perpetrated against them.”

The callers felt safe in the knowledge that the service was free, anonymous and confidential, Hart said.

While infrastructure in PNG remains dismal, the uptake of mobile phones has soared in recent years, giving the hotline an opportunity to flourish. The service offers immediate crisis support, as well as referrals to medical and psychological services and law enforcement agencies.

Médecins Sans Frontières works alongside ChildFund in PNG on eradicating domestic and sexual violence. In 2013 it released a report labelling the scourge of family and sexual violence a public health emergency.

“Family and sexual violence is a medical-humanitarian emergency with serious consequences for survivors, at individual and also family level,” the report said. “Its effects go far beyond domestic borders and affect public health at national level.”

It called for urgent medical intervention resulting from the crisis, including medical and mental health support, anti-HIV measures and the increased use of emergency contraception for rape victims.

For Hart, the instant success of the hotline is gratifying. “At the very least, it’s offering people the opportunity have the discussion,” she said.

PNG has no specific training courses or university courses for counselling, a situation ChildFund and other groups are hoping to change. Aid groups are working with the University of Papua New Guinea towards setting up a counselling curriculum.

The hotline will run for five years and is funded by aid groups and donors from Australia, New Zealand and the US.

• Call 7150 8000 within Papua New Guinea to access the new hotline. People who are seeking support for sexual and domestic violence within Australia can contact 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732

• This article was amended on 27 September 2015 to correct the names of Volunteer Services Abroad and the University of Papua New Guinea and to clarify the role of Médecins Sans Frontières.