Limerick: Funding Shortfall Closes Mid-West Rape Crisis Centre: *UPDATED

The service users have been informed of the closure

Rape Crisis Midwest has announced the temporary closure of its services in Clare, Limerick and north Tipperary. 

The centre, based in Limerick, provides counselling and psychotherapy services to victims of rape.

They said the decision was taken because of a €120,000 funding shortfall. 

Director of Rape Crisis Midwest Miriam Duffy said the financial status of the centre was at a critical point.

She said that this was as a result of funding cutbacks and a drop in donations.

The services will be temporarily closed until the end of September in an effort to save money. 

The service users have been informed of the closure. 

The helpline on 1800 311511 will remain open. 

*Reports that women held at direct provision centres are being forced into prostitution to support themselves have been described as "shocking" by Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald.

The comments came after RTÉ reported some women living at the asylum centres had become prostitutes as they are given less than €20 a week by the State.

The justice minister has ordered a report on the situation from the Reception and Integration Agency, which is responsible for providing accommodation and services for asylum seekers while their applications are processed.

Ms Fitzgerald said people should be careful not to stigmatise asylum seekers.

“I did find and I do find those reports shocking. I certainly don’t want to see any woman in Ireland feeling that the only option for her is prostitution in order to look after her family.

“First of all, I would be very concerned that there would be any targeting of the women who are in direct provision,” she said.

“I would be concerned as well about any stereotyping that might take place in relation to those women in any media reports.

“We are talking about a vulnerable group of women and I certainly don’t want to see them further stigmatised,” the minister said.

On calls by former US president Jimmy Carter, and others, to criminalise the buying of sex, Ms Fitzgerald also said she would be bringing legislation to Cabinet in the near future.

Ms Fitzgerald said she had been watching how Scandinavian countries had handled the issue.

The justice minister also attacked claims by Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin that the next Garda commissioner would be selected under a cloud because Taoiseach Enda Kenny had refused to outlay the circumstances leading up to the sudden resignation of former commissioner Martin Callinan.

Ms Fitzgerald said she disagreed with the remarks made by Mr Martin in an Irish Examiner interview and the next commissioner would not be compromised by the events leading up to the departure of Mr Callinan from his post in March after Mr Kenny had sent a senior civil servant to the then commissioner’s house to express concern at an unfolding Garda station telephone taping controversy.

“I don’t accept what Micheál Martin has said,” Ms Fitzgerald said.

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*Dublin Rape Crisis Centre has said that it took more than 12,000 calls in 2013, the highest figure since 2009.

Releasing its annual report today, the DRRC said most cases of rape and other sex crimes reported in 2013 were carried out by somebody known to the victim.

The report revealed:

- 12,192 contacts were handled by the DRCC’s National 24-Hour Helpline last yeaer.
- 9,614 were genuine counselling contacts.
- 3,928 calls were first time contacts, representing 41% of total genuine contacts.
- 4,955 repeat contacts were received, an increase of 7% on 2012.
- 78% of callers were female and 22% of callers were male.
- 43% of calls related to adult rape, an increase of 3% compared with 2012 figures.
- 9% of calls related to adult sexual assault, an increase of 21% compared with 2012 figures.
- 53% of calls related to adult sexual violence, including rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and trafficking.
- 47% of calls related to childhood sexual abuse, including ritual abuse and suspected abuse.
- 72% of callers were from the Dublin areas, while 28% were from 12 other counties.
- 96% of callers were of Irish nationality, 4% of calls were of other nationalities.
- 231 victims of rape and sexual assault were accompanied by DRCC’ s trained volunteers to the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit in the Rotunda Hospital

CEO Ellen O'Malley-Dunlop says a wide range of people asked for their help.

"We have practically 50/50 callers who are victims of recent rape and sexual assault and victims of childhood sexual abuse," she said.

"We see people from 16 up to 80".

"Sometimes people come for a few sessions, but they might come back at another time when their memory is further triggered, and they may need further support," she added.

Ms O'Malley-Dunlop also said that almost a quarter of calls to the centre last year were made by men - but less than half of the male victims who came forward availed of the centre's counseling services.

Nonetheless, she says it's encouraging that men are picking up the phone.

"Men who are victims of rape and sexual assault seem to find it much more difficult to come forward,"
Ms O'Malley-Dunlop said.
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*Teenage girls are being bullied as sexting gets out of control in Irish secondary schools.

The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre says vulnerable young girls are being pressurised into sharing explicit images which can them be used in an exploitative way.

Intimate pictures sent via chat apps like Whatsapp, Viber or Snapchat are being used as a form of bullying.

The Centre classifies this as a form of "sexual violence" and a new module has been devised to tackle the problem - as part of the BodyRight programme - to help teach girls about the dangers of sexual violence.

This comes as there was a disturbing increase in the number of rapes and other sex attacks carried out last year.