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The 16 days of Action Global Campaign which opposes violence against women and is run each year to raise awareness of the issue. This year, Women’s Aid’s theme for the 16 Days is Change the Conversation. The idea behind this year’s campaign is to allow women’s voices to be heard by challenging the culture of victim blaming which is associated with domestic violence.
Some statistics on DOMESTIC ABUSE IN IRELAND
- One in five women in Ireland experience domestic abuse.
- In 2015, there were 16,375 disclosures of domestic abuse against women and 5,966 disclosures of child abuse made to Women’s Aid services.
- The Women’s Aid 24hr National Freephone Helpline 1800 341 900 now answers 41 calls a day.
- Since our records began in 1996, 1 in every 2 women who died violently were killed by a partner or ex-partner (Women’s Aid, 2016).
As part of the 16 Days of Action Campaign 2016, many organizations around Ireland run various different events to raise awareness about this insidious issue and also to highlight the help and support that is available to anyone who finds that they are in this situation.
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Wexford Womens Refuge
053 91 218 76 / 1800 22 04 44
www.wexfordwomensrefuge.ie
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1 Life Suicide Helpline (24 hours)
1800 247 100
Wexford Garda Station 053 91 652 00
www.garda.ie
The Tusla Child and Family Agency definition of domestic violence is : “domestic and / sexual violence is the threat or use of physical, emotional, psychological and sexual abuse in close adult relationships”(Tusla, 2016).
If you or someone you know find themselves in this type of situation, it is important to know that help is available. The helplines above are an invaluable source of support and advice both for the person who is suffering or friends and family. The staff employed in these services are non-judgemental and are very experienced in this area.
When planning to leave a domestic violence situation, the following are very important to remember:
- Bring any Benefit Cards, PPS No, Birth Certs, Medical Card, Keys, Legal Papers etc. with you if possible.
- Money- any money you can- for taxis, bus fares, phone calls.
- Take enough clothes for yourself and the children, including school uniforms.
- Take any prescriptions / medication you may need e.g. inhalers.
Before leaving you should:
Plan your departure. Decide when it would be safe to leave. It is important that you leave with all the children. However, in the event of any emergency, contact the Gardai (999) and seek medical attention. It is important to speak to someone if you are suffering physical or emotional abuse. If you are injured, it is important that you attend the Hospital Accident and Emergency, you can then be referred to other support services (Wexford Support Network, 2016).
For the first day of this year’s campaign, the Wexford Women’s Refuge will present a play written by local award winning playwright Imelda Carroll called “Lisa Go Home”. It will be performed in Tesco on Distillery Road on November 25th 2016 at 11a.m, 12p.m. and again at 1p.m. Any support would be very much appreciated and refreshments will be offered at the Women’s Refuge afterwards.
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