About Us
Women's Aid is a leading national organisation that has been working to address the issue of domestic violence in Ireland for more than 35 years.
In this time, the organisation has built up a huge body of experience and expertise on the issue, enabling us to best support women and share this knowledge with other agencies responding to women experiencing domestic violence.
We know that every day in Ireland women are raped, beaten, and trapped in their own homes by those closest to them - their boyfriends, husbands and partners. For most of us, home is a place of respect, love and safety. But for one in five women in Ireland, home can also mean violence, fear and abuse.
Direct Services to Women
Our direct services to women experiencing domestic violence underpin and inform all our work toward ending violence against women.
The Women's Aid National Freephone Helpline (1800 341 900) operates from 10am to 10pm, every day of the year (except Christmas day), and provides support and information to callers experiencing abuse from intimate partners.
Our Support Services Team provide more in-depth one to one information and support, Monday to Friday, in six locations throughout Dublin:
- Ballymun
- Cabra
- Coolock
- Dublin City Centre
- Dun Laoghaire
- Swords.
Other meeting points for Support Meetings include hospitals, or other locations chosen by women for safety reasons. Referrals to our Support Services come via the National Freephone Helpline, as well as from a range of other services such as An Garda Síochána, GPs, social workers and hospital staff.
The Support Services Team also offer a Court Accompaniment Service, which provides advocacy and support specific to the particular needs of women seeking legal redress regarding violence by a current or former husband or partner.
All of the above services to women operate from and are underpinned by the following principles:
- Complete confidentiality.1
- Maximising women's safety at all times.
- Understanding the trauma of violence and supporting women's increasing autonomy while recognising the woman as expert in her own situation.
- Being informed and knowledgeable about the rights, entitlements and options for women and ensuring referral is appropriate and responsible.
- Advocating for women's rights.
- Addressing additional barriers and discriminations that women experience.
- Being committed to ensuring justice for the victim and accountability and sanctions against violent men.
- Recognising the best form of child protection in domestic violence situations is woman protection.
- Supporting women to move from crisis to safety and independence.
- Ongoing commitment to action for political and institutional change.
- Encompassing key feminist principles within the philosophy and ethos of the organisation.
Women's Aid also:
- Provides specialised training to assist a wide range of agencies in providing appropriate services to women experiencing domestic violence including: nurses, social workers, doctors, mental health workers, family support workers, community care workers, and mixed professionals working with adults and children out of home.
- Is Specialist Support Agency on Violence against Women to Community Development Projects and Family Resource Centres nationwide, providing training and information to over 300 community groups.
- Is represented at policy level in both national and local fora such as the National Steering Committee (NSC) on Violence against Women, the Legal Issues and the Public Awareness Sub-committees of the NSC, the Irish Observatory on Violence against Women, the Women's Human Rights Alliance, the Legal Aid Board External Consultative Panel and the Courts Service Users Panel.
- Works to raise awareness of the complexity and devastating consequences of domestic violence through a variety of means from media activity, provision of information, collation of statistics, and campaigns such as the 16 Days of Action Opposing Violence against Women.
- Conducts research in the area of domestic violence and seek to influence legislative change to improve state responses to women experiencing domestic violence.
Women's Aid is only too aware of the reality of violence against women. There is a constant demand for all our services. We hope that you will help Women's Aid continue to support women and their children who are being abused as well as join with us in our aim to create a society which does not accept violence against women.
1 Women's Aid has a policy in line with the Children First Guidelines which callers and clients are made aware of if disclosing child abuse.
