Inishowen Women's Outreach
Providing support for women suffering domestic violence.
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Womens Outreach can provide women with information on their rights and entitlements to all benefits, including health board services, housing, legal matters and can also refer to or provide an advocacy service for women where necessary. We also provide court accompaniment, for women who may feel intimidated at the prospect of facing court appearances/procedures alone. At all times, the service is ‘woman centred’, providing invaluable support at a time when the woman is likely to be under huge emotional, psychological and financial pressure. It has been the experience in the past that many women have been unable to draw on family or community for support in their situation- where family might be unwilling to become involved, the outreach provides constant support to the woman. - Domestic Violence is defined as: Violence against women occurs in all sorts of social classes and is equally prevalent in both urban and rural areas. Domestic Violence is generally understood to include: PHYSICAL ABUSE Slapping, hitting, kicking, burning, punching, choking, shoving, beating, throwing things, locking out, restraining and other acts designed to injure, hurt, endanger or cause physical pain. SEXUAL ABUSE Sexual abuse in the relationship can include the following tactics; Forcing someone to have sex when she does not want to; forcing someone to have sex with others, or watch others; criticism of performance; sadism; anything that makes her feel demeaned or violated. This form of abuse may also include forcing a woman into reproductory decisions that are contrary to her wishes or forcing her to have sex without protection against disease or pregnancy. Sexual abuse in the relationship often reinforces the subservience of the victim and induces feelings of humiliation and degradation. With sexual violence it it possible to inflict an intense level of pain over a prolonged period of time without killing the woman EMOTIONAL ABUSE Consistently doing or saying things to hurt, insult, shame, embarrass, ridicule, demean, belittle or mentally hurt another person.This can include calling the person names such as fat, lazy, stupid, bitch, silly ugly. Telling someone they are worthless, an unfit mother, is undesirable, is unwanted. Emotional abuse can also includes witholding affection or attention, witholding money, flaunting infidelity, isolating woman from family/friends, engaging in destructive acts, manipulation; hurting or threatening children or pets; threatening to abandon; threatening to take the children away. May also include refusing to help someone who is sick or hurt; ridiculing her most valued beliefs, religion, race, heritage, or class; insulting her family or friends. (From the Domestic Violence Sourcebook, Dawn Bradley Berry,(1998) DOES YOUR PARTNER
Control who you see and what you do? ARE YOU
Afraid for yourself and your children? Information, support and advice is central to enabling women to overcome violence. Once violence is disclosed, a woman needs easily accessible information on options available to her, and once she has decided on a preffered course of action, a range of services should then be triggered. Currently within the North West Health Board Region, all frontline services for Violence Against Women are delivered by the non-governmental organisation sector, including for example, Sligo Rape Crisis Centre , Donegal Rape Crisis Centre , Donegal Domestic Violence Refuge Service Inishowen Womens Outreach Service, Womens Centre, Letterkenny, Outreach Service and Counselling Service, WAVES Coalition, WEAVE (:Women emerging from Violence and Abuse),Women Awake and Sligo Social Services. In the North West Region in 2002
Sligo Rape Crisis Centre received 1,418 calls
As Letterkenny (50 miles) was the only place in Donegal to provide a service for victims of Domestic Violence, this group became aware, by working with women involved in violent relationships, that distance presented additional difficulties/problems. The outreach centre was established as a first place of call for those women seeking help and support in their own area. The outreach was set up to assist these women make their own choices at their own pace, with the full support, respect and commitment of our trained workers and volunteers.
Inishowen Womens Outreach was formalised in 1996 and came under the umbrealla of Action Inishowen, a community based information service. We are also affiliated with the National Network of Womens Refuges Support Services of Ireland and Women’s Aid. We currently have two members on the Regional Steering Committee on Violence Against Women.
Our vision for the future is to continue to increase awareness of the issue of domestic violence and its effects, and to continue to enhance exsisting services and develop new services. The empowerment of women who are experiencing or recovering from the crime of domestic violence is central to this process. The group vision is to negotiate second stage'crisis' housing from the local authority and to provide aftercare support and education to women and children recovering from domestic violence. |
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Services available about Inishowen Women's Outreach Contact Us |