The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Kerry Rape & Sexual Abuse Centre
IT is fitting that the Kerry Rape & Sexual Abuse Centre has again been chosen as a nominated charity for the Ring of Kerry (ROK) cycle in this, its 25th year in operation, having first opened back in March 1992.
This charity proves professional, free and confidential counselling, information and support to both male and female survivors of rape, date rape, marital rape, incest, child sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment and all other forms of sexual violence.
This is the fourth time that the centre has been involved with the ROK cycle and according to the centre’s manager, Vera O’ Leary, the funds raised through the cycle are paramount to being able to offer the necessary services for Kerry.
“We are partly government funded but without fundraisers such as the ROK cycle, we would not be able to achieve as much as we do. The cycle, the cyclists and all involved, they are not just raising money for a faceless organisation, they are raising money to help hundreds of women and men and young people who have been the victims of sexual violence,” said Vera, talking to The Kerryman.
“Three out of every ten survivors of sexual abuse in Kerry are able to avail of our services because of us being nominated as one of the main beneficiaries of the ROK cycle; that’s a lot of people that would have otherwise been waiting for a response or would have been on a waiting list,” she continued.
“The survivors of sexual violence, they deserve an immediate response because the trauma, the hurt and the pain that they are carrying can be immense for them so to think of them going on a waiting list is just so difficult. So, without the ROK cycle, we wouldn’t be able to provide this immediate service to these people in need.”
“We’re unique in that we are the only agency in Kerry that deals specifically with the issue of sexual violence. We are the only specialised service for both male and female survivors of sexual violence in the Kerry region. We are also unique in that we provide a free service; we will see people of all ages – I think the youngest person that we have at the moment is 14 years old.”
“Thanks to all the funding that we have received, we’ve come to a place where we have about eight qualified and accredited therapists who would provide on average 68 face to face professional counselling appointments meetings on a weekly basis; outside of this, we provide a range of services like family support services, free phone support, outreach work, advocacy and much more.”
“By us being nominated as a charity for the ROK, this gets people talking more about the issue of sexual violence, it is one of the last social taboos out there that people still have a little bit of difficulty talking about but by being out in the public eye as one of the charities in the ROK, this is hugely important,” she finished.
The Kerry Rape & Sexual Abuse centre is located at 5 Greenview Terrace, Princes Quay in Tralee; they can be contacted on their free phone service at 1800 633 333 or by emailing krcc@eircom.net.