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Annual
Report May
1999 to May 2000 Rape Crisis
Network, Ireland (RCNI)
Contact: National
Co-ordinator Fiona
Neary Kirwin
House, Flood Street, Galway Tel/Fax:
091 563676 E-Mail nrcci@eircom.net
Eileen Caulder, Belfast Rape Crisis Centre, Derrie Mc Gahon, Dundalk Rape Crisis Centre, Carole Mc Donnell, Galway Rape Crisis Centre, Ingrid Wallace Limerick Rape Crisis Centre, Ruth Mc Neely, Mayo Rape Crisis Centre, Francis Larkin, Sligo Rape Crisis Centre, Una Travers, South Lenister Rape Crisis Centre, Francis O’ Brien, Tipperary Rape Crisis and Counselling Centre Marie Reynolds, Tullamore Rape Crisis Centre, Elizabeth Mc Bride, Wexford Rape Crisis Centre. Nicci Rowntree Carroll, Registrar NRCCI.
Introducing the staff Fiona Neary, National Co-ordinator, NRCCI. Ann Baptiste Office Secretary, Jobs Initiative.
Other people who worked with NRCCI during the year Sarah Morton, Consultant William Johnson, Celtic Technologies Noel Mc Knight, Consultant Caitriona Ni Ghiollaphadraig Consultant
What are our Objectives?
National Co-ordinators Comment
I am pleased to present the Annual Report of the Network of Rape Crisis Centres for May 1999 to May 2000. The past year has been an exciting and stimulating time for the network having continued to highlight the nature and extent of sexual violence, support the invaluable work of rape crisis centres, and participate in national, European and international initiatives.
1999 was the first year in which the NRCCI received funding towards the employment of staff and establishment of a head office. This funding, from the Department of Health and Children, means that we are finally able to achieve many of the objectives that were beyond our Network without core funding. In many ways the work that we have undertaken this year is long overdue and there is tremendous satisfaction is seeing a model of funding and a standardised database achieved. At times it has felt like a year of catching up, and now that the fundamentals are in place, its time to move forward.
The NRCCI office and publications are a valuable resource for rape crisis centres, and all agencies and individuals working in the areas of tackling root causes of sexual violence and supporting survivors. This year sees the first publications by the NRCCI, and it is intended that these will be the first of many. Since its inception in 1985 the Network has been very aware of the highly stressful employment situation for RCC staff. Sarah Morton's research directly addresses the inadequacies of funding, and the impact of these inadequacies on both services to survivors and staff employed by RCCs. The report recognises the often unrecognised expertise and professionalism of RCCs. This publication will be a valuable resource for funding bodies in identifying gaps in service provision and adequate levels of funding to address same.
So, it has been a very busy year, getting set-up and finally having the opportunity to actively participate with other NGOs, actively engage in a number of government led consultations, and work along side national and international networks. We envisage that the coming year will afford greater opportunities for building on international linkages and networks. As can be seen from the Intercollegiate Coalition Against Sexual Assault of New York, there is much to be learned from what has worked, and not worked, in other countries. It is certainly worth exploring how initiatives from abroad could be applied in Ireland as sexual violence continues in our communities. In the coming year the network will increase its focus on tackling the root causes of sexual violence.
The NRCCI is also delighted to host the first ever seminar towards the set-up of a European network of Women’s Groups Working On Rape in Dublin in June of 2000. It is envisaged that forty groups from throughout Europe will attend this exciting and ground breaking three day event, which will no doubt have many long term outcomes.
I would like to thank our funders for their continued commitment to supporting the work of the Network. We look forward to another year of progress as we embark on new projects, and continue to support ongoing projects.
Fiona Neary National Co-ordinator May 2000
"Securing the Future of Rape Crisis Centres in Ireland" published by the NRCCI in 1999, documented the effects of underfunding of rape crisis centres and the NRCCI. As with any NGO, what we can achieve is necessarily restricted by funding constraints. At the present time, the NRCCI has funding to employ one member of staff, and run an office. As a result what can be realistically achieved is limited.
The work of supporting rape crisis centres and tackling the root causes of sexual violence in Ireland, is complex. Partnership and participation in consultation processes with the state involves a constant commitment of resources. If the Irish government is serious about tackling the causes of sexual violence in Ireland it must invest in the invaluable work undertaken by the NGO sector in this regard.
Meaningful participation of any NGO in partnership and consultation with the state is labour intensive. It requires that resources are available to train staff, and then staff must be available to attend meetings, attend seminars, build relations with civil servants, read national and international reports, research the experiences of other NGOs, research the experiences of other countries, and travel abroad for seminars. Without the funding to employ staff in this role an NGO cannot participate in meaningful partnership with the state.
At present, due to underfunding, the NRCCI is marginalised from meaningful participation in a number of important consultations with the Irish government. This includes; the Beijing Platform For Action, the UN Convention On The Elimination Of All Forms Of Discrimination Against Women, and the Commission For The Status Of Women. The NRCCI exists at a critical point in the flow of information between community based NGOs and the state, but due to lack of resources is excluded from bringing its expertise to these, and other consultations.
Tackling the root causes of sexual violence requires changing attitudes, changing behaviours, changing environments and informing public awareness. It requires research to identify behaviours and environments which enable, accept, condone or promote sexually violent behaviour. Again this work is highly labour intensive, and requires skilled staff. Those skills are available to the NRCCI. However, once again, as a result of severely restricted resources we are unable to employ the staff to undertake this critical work.
Key Acheivements - May 1999 to May 2000
The NRCCI participated in a number of national fora including;
The NRCCI forwarded submissions to Government including;
Conferences Attended in 1999
Membership
The NRCCI has 11 member rape crisis centres (RCCs) at present, with two additional members in the process of setting up new rape crisis centres. Staff and volunteers from each member centre are welcome to attend NRCCI meetings. Each centre has one vote at NRCCI meetings, which are facilitated by the National Co-ordinator.
Monthly meetings afford members an opportunity to exchange and share information regarding service developments and issues arising in their locality. This has proven a very important contact for the staff and volunteers working in RCCs. These meetings guide and oversee the work of the NRCCI, and identify future areas of work. Members also identify areas of concern in local or national policy development, and agree on campaign and lobbying work. The National Co-ordinator gives feedback regarding national and international campaigns and developments.
Parnell West Hotel, Dublin, June 30th and July 1st.
Mary Wallace, Minister for State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and Chair of The Task Force on Violence Against Women opened our AGM which was attended by approximately 70 people, from agencies throughout Ireland. Mary Wallace congratulated the NRCCI on its work as the umbrella body for RCCs in Ireland. Margaret Costello of the Network of Refuges and Support Services outlined the interagency work that she looked forward to undertaking with the NRCCI.
Very specially at our AGM Sophia Mc Colgan gave a reading from Susan Mc Kay’ s book "Sophia’s Story" . Sophia addressed the audience, and also made a presentation to Dorothy Morrissey on her retirement from RCC and NRCCI work. Dorothy was a founder of the NRCCI. The NRCCI AGM in June and July of 1999 represented the public launch of the NRCCI.
This years AGM will be opened by Mr Micheal Martin, Minister for Health and Children. Other speakers include; England and Wales Federation of RCCs, Deloras Card of Syracuse University R.A.P.E. Centre New York, Liz Kelly WACASU University North London, Pavee Point - Travellers organization and One World Centre, Galway.
Tackling the root causes of sexual violence and responding to the needs of survivors of sexual violence requires an inter agency approach. No one agency will have all the answers, but many agencies have expertise and resources, which can be mobilised into strategic and appropriate responses.
The NRCCI is committed to an inter agency approach. The NRCCI has developed strong links with other national networks, government departments, community based agencies, university departments, European and International research projects. Networking
Some of the organisations we have networked with and met during the year in the course of our work are:
At the 1999 AGM the Network recognised the great need for a funding model for RCCs. Funding continued to be entirely ad hoc across and even within different health boards. A researched funding model would provide a tool for RCCs, health boards, regional planning committees, boards of management and other funding bodies. The NRCCI received funding from the Department of Health and Children to publish two pieces of research in 2000.
The first by Sarah Morton, ‘Securing the Future; A Conceptual View of Employment Policy, Development and Funding of Rape Crisis Centres in Ireland’, was researched over ten rape crisis centres in seven health boards. It identifies and clarifies job titles, pay scales, qualification bars, pension schemes etc. Using this information it goes on to identify an easy to apply funding model, based on Core Services, Additional Services and Extended Services. This research is already being widely used in member RCCs.
The Network is very aware of the great need for further research regarding the experiences of clients who attend for counselling and support. A second piece of research by Francis Larkin "An Investigation of Counsellor Perceived Helpful and Non-Helpful Critical Incidents In the counselling of Survivors of Sexual Abuse" included substantial research in Rape Crisis Centres. This work highlights the need for further research, and documents the counsellors experience in working with survivors of sexual violence.
The NRCCI also produced and widely circulated the document "A Consideration of the Model of Service Provision Employed by Rape Crisis Centres". This document researched the background, origins and evolution of rape crisis centres, the philosophical approach to the work and the research that has been undertaken regarding survivors of sexual violence experience of using rape crisis centres.
Projects .
The production of standardised data from the crimes reported to RCCs means that the information is then of use in a very wide variety of settings. This valuable information as tothe nature and extent of sexual violence can then inform the work of policy makers, the Gardai, hospitals, Health Boards etc. In the past the NRCCI facilitated attempts to standardise the collection of data regarding crimes of sexual violence reported to RCCs. In the absence of staff and funding these attempts were necessarily limited.
In 1999 the Network began to apply for funding to research, design and install a standardised database in RCCs in Ireland. Funding was secured from the Ireland Funds. This funding would also enable the NRCCI to provide training for staff and volunteers using the database, thus ensuring a high degree of accuracy. Two consultants were employed.
Information from the following sites was considered at the outset;
At this time the Gardai Research Unit commenced an interagency project to harmonise the collection of data on violence against women in Ireland. The NRCCI actively participated in this project, including a presentation. The NRCCI is delighted with the resulting database, which has benefited from the Garda Research Unit project.
We were very aware from the outset that the database must strike an important balance between collecting sufficient data and at the same time not being so time consuming as to overwhelm the already over stretched RCC staff and volunteers.
The NRCCI was very aware that different RCCs had different levels of computer skills amongst staff and different amounts of staff time to make available to data input. Some RCCs have very little resources available to data collection, whilst others have developed very sophisticated methodologies. As such the database seeks to collect a base line of critical information whilst not seeking every possible kind of information which could be collected. Some centres will find that the database collects far more information than they presently gather and collate, other centres will notice that some pieces of data they presently collect are not yet present.
It is intended that as RCCs become familiar with the database further sites will be added. This will most likely follow on from a six month and one year review. Any database is only as good as the feedback it receives from the staff inputting data. The NRCCI will be very interested to gather this feedback, and feed it into the updating of the database.
Within these initial constraints the NRCCI database still enables any RCC to produce an excellent breakdown of information regarding callers contacting the service, and clients attending for ongoing counselling.
"Rape... The Forgotten Issue".
The Daphne Initiative is the European Commission programme on violence against women. The NRCCI is transnational partners with the South Essex Rape and Incest Crisis Centre, the Campaign to End Rape and the Women and Child Abuse Studies Unit in a Daphne funded project; "Rape....The Forgotten Issue". This project has two elements; research, which is looking at responses to reported rape across Europe; and networking, which will begin to build a European network of women’s groups working on rape.
The NRCCI will host the first working seminar towards the setting up of an European network of women’s group working on rape in Dublin in June of 2000. This seminar will be opened by three of our Irish M.E.Ps, and attended by groups from throughout Europe and the aspirant countries. We are very excited to be hosting this three-day event, which will no doubt be highly creative and informative.
Ritual Abuse.
The Network is a member of the Ritual Abuse Information Network (R.A.I.N.S) and continues to support the work of raising awareness as to the reality and extent of ritual abuse in Ireland and Internationally.
Intercollegiate Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
The Network is presently facilitating and initiating a process between the Union of Students of Ireland, the Department of Education, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, and the Intercollegiate Coalition Against Sexual Assault. This will continue to develop with a seminar at our AGM, facilitated by the National Co-ordinator and attended by Deloras Card of Syracuse University R.A.P.E. Centre, New York. This project has the following aims; Work to bring prevention awareness and intervention skills to campuses, making campuses safe environments by evaluating the safety and security of campuses in Ireland and the quality of available resources, creating collaborative prevention, education and intervention efforts, reviewing student codes of conduct and policies to establish an environment that does not tolerate sexual violence.
Supporting New Services
Sadly, many communities are still without access to support services for survivors of sexual violence. The NRCCI is responding to this situation in a number of ways. Where groups presently exist which are in the early stages of setting up RCCs the National Co-ordinator meets with the group to clarify short and long term goals and to support the development of the group. .
The NRCCI provides specialised training for new services, and a resource pack regarding local and regional relevant bodies. The NRCCI office provides ongoing support for the new group. Where no services exist, and no local group is active, the NRCCI applies for funding to initiate a local response which will then be supported in its set-up and development as above and as appropriate. This is a very important aspect of our work.
Supporting Existing Services
The NRCCI is situated at a critical point of the communication flow between local agencies, government, national bodies, NGOs, international initiatives and research. This enables the NRCCI to communicate information from the bottom up, and from the top down. It enables a much greater exchange of information at all levels, and has greatly supported interagency work. It means that services on the ground are up to date on initiatives at national and international levels, and that national and international initiatives can also benefit from the experience and expertise of services on the ground.
The NRCCI acts as a back-up agency to established services, in accessing and circulating information. Frequently, RCCs contact the NRCCI office as situations arise and the NRCCI office circulates news-sheets as information comes to hand which may be relevant.
The Network provides support for many aspects of RCC work, including; the development of management structures, support structures for staff and volunteers, employment and recruitment issues, liaising and building relations with local agencies, issues of concern as they arise. We also seek funding for projects and research which RCCs identify as being important to their work.
It is frequently the case that under resourced RCCs struggle to provide vital services in their locality and do not have the staff or funding resources to promote their good work and expertise. The NRCCI has an important role in promoting the work of RCCs and all levels, and to also promote wider understanding of the philosophy and approach of RCCs.
Communications/Media Strategy.
Raising awareness as to the nature and extent of sexual violence and promoting the work of RCCs is an important aspect of the NRCCI role. Since May of 1999 the NRCCI has had coverage or given interviews/comment with all of the following;
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