REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE AT THE OPENING OF THE DROP-IN CENTRE AND HELPLINE
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE AT THE OPENING OF THE DROP-IN CENTRE AND HELPLINE FOR THE WOMEN IN CRISIS HELP GROUP
I am delighted to be here with you this afternoon to open the Drop-in centre and Helpline for the Women in Crisis Help Group – and I am very grateful to Joan Shanley for inviting me to be with you on this important day for the group – and a day which marks a major achievement for you so soon after the help group was formed scarcely a year ago.
The fact that you have achieved so much over the last eleven months is a recognition in itself that there is a need for information, counselling, for legal advice and emergency accommodation in the midlands area. The positive aspects of your success are that you have been able to provide a service for which there is a real need – and that women who are in need – who are not prepared to put up with the misery and torture that so many in the past have endured - are prepared to come forward for help – and are not afraid of being labelled. That reflects a considerable amount of confidence and is a further step on the road to equality for women.
Only yesterday I was privileged to be associated with the launch of a report which dealt with the legal process and victims of rape – the findings of a year-long research project which examined the cases of twenty five women across Europe who were rape victims – and a comparative analysis of the legal and judicial systems in all 15 member States of the European Union.
What was unique about the report was that it was not confined to the legal aspects of the processing of rape cases but drew heavily on the personal experiences of the victims themselves – the trauma and the psychological impact of what had happened to them. The report showed up deficiencies in systems which tend to deal with cold facts – with analysis of the actions rather than the results of those actions. The fact that the report incorporated these case analyses is a reflection of the changes that are slowly taking place in consideration of legal reforms and are leading to a new an enlightened approach to dealing with the suffering and hurt encountered by the victims of crime.
With the Women in Crisis Centre and Helpline here in Tullamore – you are reinforcing that trend by giving recognition and refuge to those women who suffer abuse and violence in the home. In the process of providing that vital support you are giving validity to their claims as genuine victims and helping them to move forward with the confidence of knowing that they have support and backing for the legal processes that ensue. That support is the key to the way forward for countless women who can find themselves so easily trapped in situations where they feel a whole spectrum of inadequacies because of their vulnerability.
In opening the new facilities today, I want to congratulate you on your achievements – and on your vision and determination in setting up the Women in Crisis Help Group following the tragic and untimely death through suicide of a mother of four young children from this area. I know that you have plans to expand your service with the provision of a five-unit refuge to be constructed over the next two years – and that you will be assisted in that with funding from the Department of the Environment Voluntary Housing Capital Grant Assistance Scheme and with support from the Pastoral Executive Committee among others. I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to all of the individuals and organisations who are supporting you in your efforts. Indeed special thanks are due the Society of St. Vincent de Paul – who are generously facilitating you with two rooms – and to the owners and management of the Moorhill House Hotel who have very kindly donated their services for today.
You have achieved quite an amount since last October and I am sure that you can build on your success to provide those who have a need for your services with the assistance and support they require at a difficult time in their lives.
ENDS