History of Women's Aid
Women's Aid is a leading national organisation which has provided support and information for over 35 years to women and their children experiencing domestic violence.
Since our foundation in 1974, there has been a profound shift in social, cultural and political attitudes towards abused women in Ireland. The provision of support and information by Women's Aid to women and their children affected by physical, emotional, financial and sexual abuse in their own homes has played a crucial part of this shift. This direct work has been supported by our efforts to change and improve societal and political responses to domestic violence. Our aim is to eliminate violence against women and all our work is directed at this ultimate goal.
We have listed below some of the achievements and milestone from our history:
| YEAR | MILESTONE |
|---|---|
| 1974 | Women's Aid formed - Nuala Fennel affected by UK programme she sees about domestic violence in which many of the women speaking are from Ireland, who had nowhere to go. She sends a letter to the Irish Times highlighting the problem and asking if anyone wants to join with her to do something about it. Receives a huge response. |
| 1975 | Fast is held by Women's Aid (GPO) to highlight the lack of services for women in Ireland |
| 1976 | First legislation of domestic violence introduced. Women can avail of barring orders for the first time. They last for 3 months, but no implementation |
| 1981 | Fire in refuge on Harcourt street causing an accommodation crisis for Women's Aid. |
| Improvement in domestic violence legislation. Protection orders introduced and barring orders increased from 3 to 12 months. | |
| 1986 | Rathmines Refuge is opened - first custom built refuge in Ireland |
| 1992 | Arts Project started in Rathmines Refuge - way of working on the issues which violence brings up for women and children through art. |
| Hospital Project - research in St. James's hospital into the identification and responses to women who have been abused. Research shows that where staff are trained on how to respond to domestic violence, more women are opening up and disclosing real reason for injuries. | |
| 1994 | Women's Aid National Freephone Helpline is set up. The Helpline provides information and support to women who are experiencing physical, emotional, sexual and financial abuse in their own homes. |
| Women's Aid One to One Support and Court Accompaniment Services are set up. The support service is a one-to-one service between the woman and a Women's Aid worker. It provides more in-depth information and a closer look at the woman's options. | |
| The Court accompaniment service is provided to women on request. The Women's Aid workers attend court with the woman to provide support on the day and help the woman come to terms with the court's decision. | |
| Roddy Doyle's The Family is broadcast on RTE- the number of calls to the Helpline increase hugely. | |
| Women's Aid homilies on domestic violence in Churches | |
| 1995 | Making the Links Research is published - first research into prevalence of domestic violence in Ireland - shows that almost 1 in 5 (18%) Irish women who have been in an intimate relationship have experienced violence. |
| Zero Tolerance Campaign - Flowers Chocolates and Multiple Bruising public awareness campaign. | |
| Beijing - Irish woman (from Women's Aid) speaks at UN Conference about her experience of violence in Ireland. | |
| Schools Work begins -working with transition year students about what they expect of relationships, their understanding of what is and what is not violence in relationships. | |
| Women's Aid begin training Garda recruits on responding to domestic violence. | |
| First Women's Aid fundraising cycle. | |
| Bus Project - Bus which travelled to various areas in Ireland, highlighting issue of violence against women - from this project a number of support services were set up outside Dublin, including Women's Aid, Dundalk. | |
| Forum Theatre - interactive theatre which explores the obstacles to women leaving a violent relationship | |
| 1996 | Sonas is opened -medium term housing for women made homeless as a result of domestic violence - 25 houses in a northside suburb, with support workers. |
| Now project - capacity building for women who have experienced violence, after which most of the participants went onto further education or entered the workforce. | |
| Domestic Violence Act passed - expanded the law to include abuse by people who were not spouses - cohabitees, parents, children | |
| 16 Days of Action Opposing Violence against Women T-shirt protest highlights domestic violence in Ireland. | |
| Sceal Mna set up - Art group for women who have left abusive relationships | |
| 1997 | WaWa charity shops supporting Women's Aid open. |
| Training and Development team set up to train statutory and non-statutory groups who respond to domestic violence in their work. | |
| Violence at Home - Support at Work - Joint Trade union campaign. | |
| Publication of Government Taskforce report on Violence against women | |
| 1998 | Community Development Support Programme - Women's Aid provide support to Community Development projects who are responding to violence |
| Starting Over Group - A support group for women who have left abusive relationships. | |
| Extension of Helpline hours to 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. | |
| 16 Days of Action protest outside the Dáil | |
| 1999 | Outreach - One to one support visits which take place in the community. |
| Safety and Sanctions published by Women's Aid - research into the implementation of the Domestic Violence Act. | |
| Koffee for Kosovo - fundraiser coffee morning hosted by Women's Aid in aid of the women victims of rape as a weapon of war in Kosovo. | |
| Violence as a Health Issue - Launch of training manual on working with health professionals in the Accident and Emergency hospitals on responding to women experiencing violence. | |
| 16 Days of Action commemorates the 50 women who have been murdered in Ireland since 1996. | |
| 2000 | Personal Development through Arts for women and children expanded to more Dublin refuges. |
| Women's Aid celebrates 25 year anniversary. | |
| Beijing Plus 5 Review | |
| 'Dining out to Make a Difference' Fundraising Campaign. | |
| 2001 | Teenage Tolerance: The Hidden Lives of Young Irish People research on young people's experiences and attitudes to relationships and domestic violence shows an overwhelming prevalence of violence and harassment in the lives of young people, mainly young women. |
| Violence against Women: An Issue of Gender report published in conjunction with other prominent violence against women groups and academics, in response to misinformation in the media that violence was a gender-neutral issue. | |
| The Women's Aid Butterfly Project for women attempts to tackle the aftermath of leaving a violent relationship. | |
| 2002 | Women's Aid launched its election strategy Respond, Reform, Research, Resource: A Strategy to Tackle Violence Against Women, turning domestic violence into a real general election issue. |
| Casualties of Violence Conference organised by Women's Aid explores domestic violence as an issue of health. | |
| Women's Aid documents our model of work in Vision, Action, Change: Feminist Principles and Practice of working on Violence against Women. The experience and voices of women directly subjected to male violence underpinned the model. | |
| Women's Aid and the National Disability Authority publish guidelines entitled Responding to Violence Against Women with Disabilities, based on the dialogue between disability advocacy groups and organisations working to address violence against women. | |
| 2003 | Practice to Policy Leadership Course delivers four modules on feminism and leadership to women from violence against women organisations and community projects. The course is held again in 2004. |
| Child Custody & Access in the Context of Domestic Violence: Women's Experiences and the Response of the Legal System was compiled by Women's Aid to highlight the experiences of women as reported to our support services regarding their abusive partner's continued control of them via access to children and their interaction with the courts. | |
| 2004 | Women's Aid National Awareness Poster Campaign 'Some men break more than their girlfriends' hearts-Domestic violence affects 1 in 5 Irish women'. |
| 2005 | The Doll's House - Ireland's first TV Domestic Violence Public Awareness Campaign advertising the Women's Aid Helpline, raising calls by 1,000 during the campaign. |
| Women's Aid attends Ireland's examination under the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) as part of the Irish NGO delegation. | |
| Women's Aid Training & Development team begin providing training on the implementation of the Community Development Code of Practice on Domestic Violence to Community Development Projects and Family Resource Centres all over Ireland. | |
| 2006 | Arts Programme commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Rathmines Refuge with a mosaic installation themed 'Seasons of Change' at a ceremony attended by President Mary McAleese. |
| Women's Aid, AkiDwA and the Immigrant Council of Ireland hold a conference addressing the needs of Black and Ethnic Minority Women affected by domestic violence. | |
| 2007 | Director Margaret Martin and Women's Aid receive the James Larkin 'Thirst for Justice' Award from the Labour Party, which recognises outstanding work on social justice issues, particularly those which bridge the gap between 'what is and what ought to be' in Irish Society. |
| Women's Aid opens a new services outreach programme in Ballymun. | |
| Protection, Provision, Prevention: A Manifesto to End Domestic Violence is produced by Women's Aid, disseminated nationally and launched in the national media ahead of the General Election 2007. | |
| Women's Aid begins an annual donation of materials documenting our work to the National Archives. | |
| Women's Aid launches the new Domestic Violence and Mental Health Training Module. | |
| 2008 | The Wa Wa shop in Ranelagh relocates to Aungier Street, Dublin 2. |
| Women's Aid attends the Women against Violence in Europe (WAVE) conference in Slovakia. | |
| 16 Days of Action 'Home Truths: Think Women's Human Rights - Think Home' Campaign marks the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. | |
| 2009 | Women's Aid partners with beauty company Avon as part of its Speak Out against Domestic Violence Campaign. |
| "Domestic Violence, State Accountability and Family Law: Examples from the United States": hosted by Women's Aid and chaired by Senator Ivana Bacik, this seminar brought leading US-based legal experts to Ireland to discuss best practice and successful strategies from the United States. | |
| Women's Aid pays tribute to Nuala Fennell, who passed away at the age of 73. Ms Fennell was a founder member and the first Chairperson of Women's Aid. | |
| Women's Aid runs the national 'Support a Friend Phone Charm' public awareness campaign as part of the 16 Days of Action 'Breaking the silence around domestic violence' campaign. | |
| Women's Aid calls for improved legal protection for women not covered by current domestic violence legislation, under the proposed Civil Partnership Bill and the Domestic Violence Act, 1996. | |
| Women's Aid Training and Development team begins trainings on Domestic Violence & Pregnancy for maternity hospital staff and introduces a new module for psychotherapists. | |
| 2010 | The updated Women's Aid website is launched with support from the Avon Speak Out Against Domestic Violence Campaign. |
| Women's Aid says farewell to the East Coast Cycle Challenge from Dublin to Arklow, with many thanks to all our participating cyclists.Women's Aid coordinates the first One in Five Women National Balloon Action during the 16 Days of Action. | |
| Women's Aid continues to call for improved legal protection for women not covered by current domestic violence legislation, under the proposed Civil Partnership Bill and the Domestic Violence Act, 1996. | |
| Women's Aid coordinates the first One in Five Women National Balloon Action during the 16 Days of Action. | |
| VAW 365 Poster Exhibition is presented by Women's Aid during the 16 Days of Action. | |
| 2011 | Women's Aid runs the ground-breaking 2in2u National Public Awareness Campaign, raising awareness of violence in dating relationships through radio and online adverts, and with a dedicated website with a relationship health check at www.2in2u.ie |
| Our website, www.womensaid.ie, support and information pages into eight languages: French, Spanish, Romanian, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, Polish, and Irish. | |
| The Language Line translation service is launched on our National Freephone Helpline. | |
| Long fought for amendments are made to the Domestic Violence Act, 1996 which allow partners with a child in common and who have lived together to access legal protection from domestic violence through Safety Orders, without the previous cohabitation requirements. | |
| Today | We respond to over 10,000 calls annually on our National Freephone Helpline (1800 341 900), which operates 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. |
| We support women on a one-to-one basis, giving them information and support on financial, legal, housing and social welfare matters. | |
| We accompany women through the court system. | |
| We facilitate access to crisis and long-term accommodation for women and children who have been abused. | |
| We train statutory and voluntary agencies such as the Gardai, medical and health professionals, and community workers on how to recognise and respond to women experiencing domestic violence. | |
| We assist groups all over the country to set up services in response to domestic violence. | |
| We provide on-going support to women who move on to start new lives for themselves and their children. | |
| We influence policy, lobby for improved legislation, and provide quality research and information to the media and public. |