Last year, a woman who had survived a gang rape got in touch for help. Even for Funnell, who has over a decade of experience in this area, the details of the assault were "next level". Funnell found that she wasn't able to get the woman's ordeal out of her mind. She wasn't sleeping well. She was bursting into tears.

One October evening, not able to handle the stress, she called 1800RESPECT, the national counselling helpline for victims of sexual assault and domestic abuse.

But Funnell's distress soon turned to amazement as the counsellor on the other end of the line searched for the term to describe what Funnell was going through. In the end, Funnell says she had to suggest "vicarious trauma" to the counsellor, who referred her to another website, saying she didn't know if there any relevant information on 1800RESPECT's site as she had hadn't looked at it.

When Funnell later called back to complain, she was put on hold and then got cut off.

She describes her experience with 1800RESPECT was a "massive insult" to survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.

"Women should be entitled to a professional service, delivered by qualified, skilled trauma experts," Funnell says.

1800RESPECT is Australia's national – and most widely recognised – telephone counselling service for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence and the family, friends and counsellors who support them. It has also become the subject of a fierce debate over whether it is providing adequate support to the growing numbers of people seeking help as awareness of domestic violence, in particular, increases.

Some in the sector argue a recent change in the way 1800RESPECT handles calls has seen a serious reduction in quality, with one group going so far as to recommend their clients go to other services. In Parliament last week, the Senate backed a Greens-led motion noting these concerns and calling on the Turnbull government to provide the specialist counselling arm of the phoneline with "sustainable" funding.

But the Coalition insists the service has, on the contrary, improved over the past year, and that it has the facts and figures to prove it.

Medibank Health Solutions (MHS), which counts beyondblue, Quitline and healthdirect among its other clients, has provided the phonelines and other infrastructure for 1800RESPECT since it began in 2010. It subcontracts to Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia (R&DVSA), who provide the specialist trauma counselling component.

But following a government-commissioned KPMG review into the service, a "triage" system was set up in August 2016. This means MHS counsellors now answer the calls, do an initial assessment (is this person just calling for basic information? Do they need a state-based service instead?) and then refer them to a R&DVSA counsellor if necessary.

R&DVSA's contract runs out in October and so, this specialist counselling component of 1800RESPECT is currently up for grabs. MHS is expected to announce a decision about future arrangements soon.

For Funnell, who is an ambassador for the Full Stop Foundation (an initiative of R&DVSA) and a former R&DVSA board member, the triage model is worrying because it means people with more general expertise are taking calls that were once handled by trauma experts.

However, Social Services Minister Christian Porter says the new approach was introduced because there were "serious deficiencies" in the R&DVSA service, even though it was given an extra $3.6 million for 2015-16 and 2016-17.

"Before the 1800RESPECT line was reformed and properly funded by this government, 33 per cent of calls were being answered, 67 per cent of calls were being abandoned and the average wait time for calls was 10.3 minutes," Mr Porter told Fairfax Media, adding the answer rate is now 90 per cent with average wait times down to 51 seconds. "It's an incredible improvement in the service."

He notes that those taking the initial calls all have three-year degrees in relevant areas like social work and two years of full-time counselling experience. "It's not a huge gulf in experience," Mr Porter says.

The government also points out the number of complaints reported by MHS is relatively small. Senate estimates was recently told that from August 2016 to March 2017, the service took more than 43,700 calls and received 72 complaints and 55 compliments. According to MHS, it is "uncommon" for calls to be disconnected.

R&DVSA has its own internal log which lists more than 330 issues raised by clients and R&DVSA counsellors about the triage service. These include technology or system issues as well as things like the manner of MHS workers. There are also multiple public reports of people having poor experiences with the new look 1800RESPECT. This includes the previously reported case of a woman who was told her call would be stopped if she didn't stop crying.

MHS says incidents such as this one and suggestions about having a glass of wine have been "fully investigated" by senior clinicians and dealt with and potential callers should have every confidence in the service.

"While it is very important that concerns are heard and debated publicly, and we reiterate we have already taken action in response to the matters you have raised, we are concerned that continued publication of these same complaints could have an impact on Australians who might need to seek assistance through 1800RESPECT," Medibank chief medical officer Linda Swan told Fairfax Media.

"We stand behind the 1800RESPECT service, which is a world-class national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service that provides a critical service to Australians."

End Rape on Campus Australia director Sharna Bremner is not convinced. She says her organisation has had repeated run-ins with 1800RESPECT, including student survivors either not getting through or being told to call back if they want to speak to trauma experts. As a result, End Rape on Campus has stopped referring survivors they work with to 1800RESPECT, directing them to state-based services instead. This comes ahead of a landmark report into university sexual assaults, which is due in August and expected to prompt many people to contact services for help.

"We don't want to stop people to getting help. But we don't want people to be re-traumatisted. The potential for added harm is far too great for us," says Bremner.

EROC's stance greatly concerns and even angers Mr Porter.

"If it were the case that anyone was out there advocating that people don't call 1800RESPECT where people are in need of a service, then that would be grossly irresponsible," the Social Services Minister said.

EROC's position also seriously concerns others within the sector, who say at-risk women should not be discouraged from seeking help and 1800RESPECT is doing an important job, even if if there have been some issues. Although, in a further sign of the sensitivities around the debate, Fairfax Media spoke to three senior experts supportive of the helpline who would not make comments on the record.

And as the debate around 1800RESPECT continues, so too do the deplorable rates of violence against women. One in five Australian women over 15 experiences sexual violence, while one in four experiences sexual or physical violence from a partner. And on average, at least one woman is killed each week by a current or former partner.

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732. In an emergency contact 000.