Crisis centre’s CEO says TD’s revelation led to more calls
CALLS to Sligo Rape Crisis Centre have risen following Fine Gael TD Josepha Madigan's revelations hat she is a a survivor of sexual assault. Speaking during a Dáil discussion last week on sexual and domestic violence, Deputy Madigan said there are “very few" women her age who have not been subjected to some form of sexual assault in their lifetime.
David Madden, CEO of Sligo Rape Crisis Centre, told the Sligo Weekender that since that speech calls to their helpline had gone up “slightly” while their social media platforms had seen a rise in traffic also. He said their number of referrals had not increased since Minister of State Madigan spoke about her own experience.
“We posted and tweeted her comments online and that has seen an increase in our social media interactions and interest. The issue is national and local and what has really emerged strongly is the fact that when sexual assaults happen, very often they go unreported.” He stressed the importance of people who are victims of a sexual assault getting specialist help from organisations such as Sligo Rape Crisis Centre: “This is a very unique crime. It's not like a burglary or a civil offence. It is a very intimate crime and people need specialist help.”
Commenting on data the centre has gathered for Sligo, he said 40 per cent of the people who come to them have been assaulted by people they know: “40 per cent of the people who come to us having been assaulted or raped or abused in some way, shape or form, are known to the survivor/ victim of the assault.
“It’s a friend, it’s a family member, it's a relative or it’s an authority figure or it may be a sibling. “This sense of 'monsters in the alleyway' is a bit of a myth really, it does happen, but statistically it is the minority of people who get assaulted by a complete stranger who is unknown to them, the survivor.
“Normally the perpetrator is known to them in some way, if only that they have been approached in a pub or a club or they are a workmate that they know vaguely, but the perpetrators are generally known to the survivors,” he said.
On Tuesday week last, July 6, the Minister of State with responsibility for Special Education and Inclusion said there are “very few" women her age who have not been subjected to some form of sexual assault in their lifetime. She said: “I know this because I am one of them.”
The Dublin-Rathdown TD said it won't come as a surprise to "those of us of a similar age who have suffered this trauma, and sometimes we have suffered it more than once.
“It was, and is, a lot more common than many believe.”
Mr Madden said the reality is that a lot of people who are survivors of sexual assault, sexual violence don’t report it.
“In some cases they don’t tell anybody, so a lot of the time it doesn’t get known about and therefore, as the Taoiseach said recently, it remains a hidden abuse.
“For that reason it is often not talked about and people carry it around and they don’t get the specialist help they need,” he said. Mr Madden said statistics suggest maybe half the people who are assaulted or raped don’t report what happened to them to anyone, the gardaí or even their GP, they don’t even report it medically.
He described sexual assault as largely a hidden problem in Ireland, adding: “It certainly is the shadow side of our society but it does exist and a lot of people are affected by it, directly and indirectly.”
Sligo Rape Crisis Centre offers confidential information to people who have been the victim of sexual assault, for anyone affected in any way by sexual violence, for people who have survived sexual violence and they also offer help and advice to those you may know who knows someone affected by it.
David stated: “Nearly everybody you know, knows somebody who has been affected by it, directly or indirectly, so we offer help to a very broad sweep of people, from those who survived the sexual assault to their friends and families who have been impacted by it.”
You can contact the centre in Sligo via their free phone number: 1800 750780. You can email the centre at info@srcc.ie also.
David added: “We offer information and advice for people wondering what they should do, where they should go. Some times the information they need is for themselves or it may be for someone else.
“It is a confidential service, we don't ask for any names, any identifying details, we will offer information and advice, we offer counselling by video link and 'in person' counselling.
Sligo Rape Crisis Centre operates from a number of locations. It is based at Kempten Parade in Sligo, but also has locations in Carrick-onshannon, Leitrim, and in Cavan in Killeshandra and Cavan town.
If you need assistance, contact Sligo Rape Crisis Centre on their freefone number 1800 750780
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