'Leading the charge' on building pathways out of DV
Cavan and Monaghan are “taking the lead nationally” when it comes to providing refuge and safe homes for women experiencing domestic violence.
The women’s refuge project in Monaghan is now progressing to stage two, when a project manager will be appointed, and the design of the refuge will commence.
Safe Ireland Interim CEO Christine Lodge, who was speaking at an All-Island Local Government (AILG) event in Ballyconnell last week aimed at ending violence against women and girls, shared the update.
Ms Lodge told the Celt 2028 is the “realistic timeline” for the opening of the refuge, however cautions “it can take up to three years.”
When complete, the facility will have 12 units, each of which can cater for one woman and three or four children.
In the meantime, Monaghan County Council has come forward with two locations for an “interim” refuge in the county. Having selected one, Ms Lodge is hopeful it will be operational by the end of summer.
“There’s a lot of work to be done to get to that point,” she added.
Upon completion, up to six women and 18 children will be able to avail of the facility.
Meanwhile, Safe Ireland also plans to have three safe homes established across County Cavan by the end of April, which are currently being refurbished. Monaghan too will have three safe homes by the last quarter of this year.
“Straight away you can see that Cavan and Monaghan are leading the charge nationally with regard to building an integrated pathway out of abuse,” she praised.
The precise locations are not officially released to enhance the safety and security of those needing the accommodation.
A safe home is “normal housing” that could be located within an estate where “nobody else would know” its purpose. It has enhanced security systems and a support worker assigned to that family.
The event, held in the Slieve Russell Hotel, brought councillors from all over the country to highlight the role of local government in building safer communities as part of the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG) campaign.
Ms Lodge described the two counties as a “really good example” of interagency collaboration.
“It’s an example that I hope the councillors in the room can take on board,” she encouraged.
“Our focus as an organisation is to build a pathway out of abuse for women and children, and that needs national DV infrastructure to support that pathway. That’s everybody’s responsibility, central and local government and DV providers.”
Cavan and Monaghan are “taking the lead” in developing this pathway in collaboration with Safe Ireland.
“If a woman goes into emergency accommodation, the idea is that she will come out and go into a safe home, which is still a supportive environment for up to a year. Then she goes into long-term stability in terms of housing tenure. That’s the pathway,” outlined Ms Lodge.
She described the availability of longer-term housing as a “critical issue” for Safe Ireland.
“There’s lots of barriers... but we are working collaboratively to identify ways to overcome that.”
“A fully developed pathway would be the focus, but we’re really pleased to start off with six [safe homes], an interim refuge and a refuge. We’ve gone from zero to all of that in the space of three years, which is phenomenal,” she told the Celt.
While Ms Lodge welcomed commitments to deliver 18 new refuges across the country, she described refuge as temporary and only “part of the answer”.
“What happens to a woman afterwards is critically important.
“When we’re designing this pathway we have to take into consideration the needs of women and children who are trying to escape abuse.
“We have to make sure that the pathway is there to support that.”
She said each person in the room plays a “critical role” in terms of supporting organisations like Safe Ireland, so that women who make a decision to take refuge will have “comfort” that there will be “somewhere for her and her family to go” afterwards.
Meanwhile Ms Lodge also highlighted how there is “no specific allocation of social housing for survivors”, nor is there financial support to “help women secure safe accommodation”.
“It must be addressed,” she said, and called upon local authorities to publish the guidelines in relation to prioritising housing for victims of domestic abuse.
Meanwhile, Safe Ireland and its network members is also exploring ways to support women who choose to stay at home. They are taking the UK’s Sanctuary Scheme “very seriously” and are “looking into” this model.
A Sanctuary Scheme is a multi-agency victim or survivor centred initiative, which aims to enable those at risk of domestic abuse to remain in their own homes and reduce repeat victimisation through the provision of enhanced security measures and support.
She welcomed that Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan recently acknowledged the “serious issue” with the perpetrator “being left in the home” and “the woman and the children having to leave”.
“We welcome the recent update where that is now being looked at and that links in with the Sanctuary scheme in the UK,” she shared.
Ms Lodge said Safe Ireland and its network members’ work is focused on eradicating domestic, sex, gender and sexuality-based violence in Ireland.
The latter, she said, requires a nation-wide and community-based response. She shared some “sobering figures” with those gathered.
Since 1996, 278 women have died “violently” in the Republic of Ireland, with these figures recorded up until the end of last month. One hundred and eighty-three of these women were killed in their own home, while 55% were killed by a partner or ex-partner. Eighty seven percent were killed by a man known to them.
“DV does not discriminate, it can happen in every household across this country,” Ms Lodge said.
SUPPORT
Safe Ireland Cavan-Monaghan provides domestic violence support services to women and children in Cavan and Monaghan. You can phone them on 047 72311. In an emergency, please always dial 112/999.
You can find out more about how Safe Ireland can help you by se arching safeireland.ie