Women’s Aid Privacy Notice

“Controller” means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data. 

“Criminal offence data” is data which relates to an individual’s criminal convictions and offences. 

“Data Processing”, “Process”, “Processing” is any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction. 

“Data Subject(s)” means all identified or identifiable natural persons (living individuals) about whom we collect and hold personal data and special category personal data.  An identifiable person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factor specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.  All data subjects have legal rights in relation to personal data under data protection law. 

“Personal Data” means any information relating to an identified or an identifiable person (‘data subject’); an identifiable person is one who can be directly or indirectly identified from that information, for example, a person’s name, identification number, location, online identifier.  

“Special Categories of Personal Data” is data which relates to an individual’s health, sex life, sexual orientation, race, ethnic origin, political opinion, religion or philosophical beliefs, and trade union membership. It also includes genetic and biometric data (where used for ID purposes). 

The information we collect and how we Process your Personal Data will depend on your relationship with Women’s Aid and the services which you avail of. 

a). Women’s Aid National Helpline 

(i) 24 National Freephone Helpline 

The Women’s Aid 24 hour National Freephone Helpline is a free, non-judgmental and confidential service that offers support to women subjected to domestic abuse including coercive control and stalking.  This includes emotional, physical, sexual or economic abuse by a current or former partner.  

The 24hr National Freephone Helpline also supports anyone who is worried about someone they know and professionals supporting someone who is being subjected to abuse. 

 Our Helpline Support workers are here to listen, believe and support you and you can contact them by phone or online.  If you would like to talk to them they will provide emotional support and practical information by exploring options, they will do that and may also refer you to local domestic violence support services or women’s refuge.  Depending on your needs, the Helpline Support Team will explore the options with you and provide a range of information on finance, housing, children, court orders and social welfare.   

If your first language is not English and you would like to speak to us in your native language, we have a Telephone Interpretation Service available in over 240 languages.  This service is free and completely confidential.  

We would like to reassure you that it is your choice if you wish to disclose information regarding the reason for your call or text. 

Women’s Aid National Freephone Helpline does not record or retain personal identifiable information. 

We will process any information that you disclose to us during the call, .  This may include:

• Personal details such as your first name; 

• If you would like to make an appointment for Court Accompaniment, One to One Service or a third-party support service.  If the Helpline support staff are unable to transfer your call directly to the third party support service you require, we may ask you for your contact telephone number so we can request the support service to contact you, with your consent; 

• Your health details should you wish to disclose these in the context of domestic abuse, for example if you are pregnant or have a disability; 

• Your relationship with the abuser, for example, if the perpetrator is your husband, partner, ex-partner etc..; 

• Your experience of the nature and extent of the abuse suffered; 

• Any risks that you and your family are experiencing; 

• Details of any children you may have (e.g. how many, their ages, gender) and if they suffer abuse at the hands of the perpetrator.  We do not ask you to identify your children by name.  However, if your child/ren are victims of abuse and you do disclose their name and address, Women’s Aid are under an obligation to make a Child Protection referral to Tusla.; Women’s Aid will also support you to make a referral yourself if you have concerns about your child/ren’s safety; 

• Information about anyone else supporting you; and/or 

• Any other information which you wish to disclose to us. 

(ii) Instant Messaging Support Service (“IMSS”) 

This online service is free, confidential, and secure.  There may be times when you do not have the privacy to phone our National Freephone Helpline or you may simply prefer to contact us online.  This facility is currently available seven days  a week at specific times and provides you with an opportunity to contact Helpline Support Team online and instantaneously during this operation period. 

We do not ask you for any personal identifiable information and would ask that you do not provide any information via the instant messaging service.     

We will ask you to confirm that you are over 18 age. If you are under 18 years, our Helpline Support Team will refer you to more suitable services that support minors.  

What information you may wish to disclose during the IMSS conversation: 

• Your experience and nature of the abuse you have or are suffering;  

• If the Helpline support team are giving you a referral link for a local domestic support service, we may ask you to confirm the county in which you reside, to ensure we guide you to the appropriate service in your location; and/or 

• Any other information which you choose to disclose to us. 

(iv) Power of Change Programme 

The Power of Change Programme is a twelve-week programme to help empower survivors of domestic abuse in many ways.  This may include to help develop personal boundaries and assertiveness skills, to value their self-worth and recognise their own potential and/or to raise awareness of women’s basic rights. 

What information you will disclose during this programme:

If you participate in the Power to Change Programme, we will collect and Process the following Personal Data relating to you: 

• Your name; 

• Contact details (phone number, email address); 

• A brief history of the abuse you suffered to ensure that you are living free from your abuser for at least one year; 

• How you think the course might benefit you;  

• If you have any access requirements, for example, a physical disability; and 

• Any other information which you choose to disclose to us. 

Your personal details will be used for details of your attendance.   

Legal bases and purposes for which Helpline collects and Processes your data 

In order to Process Personal Data under the GDPR, Women’s Aid must have an appropriate legal basis under Article 6 GDPR and, when Processing Special Categories of Personal Data, an appropriate legal basis under Article 9 GDPR.  

 The Women’s Aid National Helpline may Process Personal Data relating to you in order to provide you with a listening ear, emotional support and practical information about domestic abuse services available.  Where Women’s Aid Processes your Personal Data for the purposes of providing the Women’s Aid National Helpline services and directing you to the appropriate service, it does so on the basis of Women’s Aid legitimate interests under Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR. We may Process Personal Data for the purpose of our legitimate interests in providing our services in a responsible and effective manner. 

 The Helpline Support Team may contact a third-party service, on your behalf and with your permission, for example, refuge accommodation, domestic violence support service/court accompaniment, An Gardaí Síochána, and/or Tusla.  Women’s Aid may do so on the basis of your consent under Article 6(1)(a) of the GDPR.  However, in certain circumstances, and where consent is refused, Women’s Aid does not need to rely on your consent to notify certain third parties.  In emergency life or death situations, Women‘s Aid may Process Personal Data in order to protect the vital interests of an individual.  In a crisis situation, where there is risk of harm, Women’s Aid may be required to share information to prevent harm (Article 6(1)(d)).  Equally, Women’s Aid may be required to report instances of child abuse and neglect under the Children First Act 2015 (Article 6(1)(c) GDPR).  In you participate in the Power of Change Programme, we collect and Process the Personal Data described above on the basis of your explicit consent under Article 6(1)(a) of the GDPR. 

Your experience helps to inform our communication and policy campaigns so that we can increase awareness of domestic abuse and advocate for improved support and services for victims.    

The National Freephone Helpline does not record ‘your’ data.  However, we do log information for the purpose of collecting fully anonymised statistical information.  For example, we may log the relationship with the abuser (e.g. current or previous partner, husband, separated), the type of abuse you suffered (physical, sexual, financial, emotional), and whether or not children reside in a household, based on disclosures during contacts received.     

Women’s Aid is required to provide aggregated data to statutory funder Cuan on service provision for its One to One Services (see below) and Helpline.  Section 56 of the Child and Family Act 2015 allows Tusla to engage NGOs for the provision of child and family services.  Under section 56(9), Women’s Aid is required to provide information that is material to the provision of the service.    This data provision to Cuan only applies to the Cuan funded services, i.e. the One to One Services and Helpline,  the Domestic Abuse Information Service andHigh Risk Support Project, as described below.  This Processing is done on the basis that such Processing is necessary for the performance of tasks carried out by a private organisation acting in the public interest (Article 6(1)(e)).   

Retention of your Personal Data by the Helpline 

Women’s Aid National Helpline (i.e. the 24 National Freephone Helpline, Instant Messaging Support Service and Text Service) does not record Personal Ddata.  We do however, log information for the purposes of compiling statistical reports.  This data is retained for six months.  

If you are attending the Power to Change Programme, we will retain the personal data provided by you through the application form for the duration of the programme and for a period of 12 months from the conclusion date of the course.  All Personal Data will be stored securely and confidentially.  At the end of this retention period, all Personal Data will be shredded/deleted.  

b). Women’s Aid Direct (Face to Face) Services 

(i) One to One Support Services (Outreach and Court Accompaniment) and the High Risk Support Project 

If you avail of our One to One Support Services (Outreach, Maternity Outreach, Domestic Abuse Information Support (DAIS) Service, Court Accompaniment) and High Risk Support Project, our staff will review the ‘Information and Confidentiality Notice’ with you during your initial meeting and prior to collecting any Personal Data relating to you. Due to the nature of this service and the level of distress some women may be in on contact with this service, it may be difficult to provide this information to every woman. Therefore, we encourage you to read our ‘Information and Confidentiality Notice’ here. 

If you avail of our One to One Support Services (Outreach, Maternity Outreach, Domestic Abuse Information Support (DAIS) service,  Court Accompaniment) and High Risk Support Project, we will collect information about you and your family, including: 

• Personal details about you, for example your name, age, marital status, ethnicity, nationality, , disability and immigration status. 

• Safe ways to contact you; 

• Number and ages of your children. 

• Details about what is happening or has happened; 

• Any risks that you or your family are experiencing; and 

• Information about anyone else supporting; (ii) we make a referral to another domestic abuse support  

(ii) Women’s Aid Legal Clinic  

The Women’s Aid Legal Clinic is a voluntary and confidential service, staffed by volunteer lawyers whose services are provided free of charge. 

If you agree to be referred to our Legal Clinic, you will be asked to complete a referral form with your support worker that asks the following: 

• Your first name; 

• Your Marital / Civil Status (if you are single/married/cohabiting couple/separated/divorced); 

• If you are married, details of date and place of marriage and nationality of spouse. 

• The date of separation/divorce; 

• Whether you have children and number, age of these children and who they are residing with; 

• Immigration Status 

• Any family law court orders previously granted; and 

• Reason for attending the Clinic/Outline of family law issue (provide as much information as possible). 

With your consent, this information,  is then passed on to the law firm that we partner with on this project for the sole purposes of your use of the Legal Clinic Services.  Your surname and telephone number are not shared, only your first name is shared with the law firm. 

(iv) Emergency & Legal Fund  

Where we refer you to our Emergency and Legal Fund, we will collect your Personal Data so that we can administer a grant from the fund. The following personal details will be recorded and shared with our Finance Department so that payments can be processed from the fund: 

• First Name and Surname; Home address; and. 

• Your bank details (IBAN) so an Electronic Funds Transfer can be sent to you directly where appropriate; 

You will be asked to provide your explicit consent to the collection and Processing of your personal information prior to funds being made available.  

Legal Bases andpurposes for which our Services Department collect and Process your Personal Data 

We collect information about you in order to support you and your family to stay safe. 

When availing of our ‘face-to-face’ Services, we will rely on your consent to the collection and Processing of your Personal Data.    You can withdraw your consent at any time (see ‘Exercising your Data Protection Rights’ below). 

Due to the crisis nature of our work, it may not be possible for Women’s Aid to obtain consent in certain situations and as such, we may rely on one of the other legal bases for Processing your Personal Data.  This may be that the Processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation; that the Processing is necessary for the performance of tasks carried out in the public interest; that the Processing is necessary to protect the vital interests of a Dat Subject or another person; or that the Processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests of Women’s Aid or a third party as long as those legitimate interests are not overridden by fundamental rights or freedoms of the Data Subject. 

As described above, Women’s Aid is required to provide aggregated data tour statutory funder Cuan on service provision for its One to One Services and Helpline (see above).  This Processing is done on the basis that such Processing is necessary for the performance of tasks carried out by a private organisation acting in the public interest (Article 6(1)(e)).   

We use the information you provide us with to inform Women’s Aid on how our services might be improved or developed. 

Your experience helps to inform our communications and policy campaigns so that we can increase awareness of domestic abuse and advocate for improved support and services for victims.    

Anonymised information is shared with funders of our service. 

Retention of your Personal Data by our Services Department  

Women’s Aid Services Department will hold your data for a period of three years.  If after that period of time, you are not in contact with our Services Department, we will delete your records.  All child protection files that have been inactive after three years are also deleted.  

Any data shared with the Finance Department relating to the Emergency and Legal fund will be securely stored with our financial records for 7 years. 

c). Financial donations to Women’s Aid 

If you make a financial donation to Women’s Aid, we will collect and Process the following Personal Data: 

• Name and contact details, including your address, email address and phone number; 

• Your communication preferences; 

• Your Bank details;  

• The amount you wish to donate; and 

• PPS Number. 

This Personal Data may be collected from you by phone, post, on our website or in person. 

Legal Bases and purposes for which the Communications and Fundraising Department collects and Processes your Personal Data 

The Communications and Fundraising Department will Process your Personal Data for the following reasons: 

• To Process donations which you make to Women’s Aid; 

• To respond to any queries that you have submitted to us via the website; 

• To improve and develop our website; 

• To provide you with details of our services and training events; and 

• We collect the PPS number if we receive a tax relief form from the donor to claim from revenue. 

Women’s Aid relies on [ . ] [your explicit consent under Article 6(1)(a) in addition to Women’s Aid legitimate interest under Article 6(1)(f)] when Processing this Personal Data for the purposes of effecting this donation. 

When you are making a financial donation to Women’s Aid, your personal contact details are entered into our fundraising database.  Our Communications and Fundraising Department may be in contact with you from time to time to: 

• inform you of upcoming campaigns and fundraising activities;  

• tell you how your contribution has improved the lives of women and children suffering domestic abuse And/or 

• to thank you for your support of these endeavours.   

If any time you would like Women’s Aid to cease communication with you, this option is available on our website or you can contact the Communications and Fundraising Department on comms@womensaid.ie 

Retention of Personal Data by the Communications and Fundraising Department 

We will not hold your Personal Data for longer than is necessary. We retain your Personal Data for as long as we need it for the purposes described in this Notice, or to comply with our obligations under applicable law and Revenue purposes. 

d). Women’s Aid Training Courses and Awareness Events 

If you participate in a Women’s Aid training course or event, you will be asked to register on our Learning and Practice Development platform through the Women’s Aid website and complete a registration process which will collect the following information: 

• Name and contact details, s, email address ;  

• If you have any access requirements, for example, a disability; 

• The organisation with whom you work; and 

• Your job title. 

Data may be collected from you by email, post, phone or website. 

Legal bases and purposes for which the Training Department collects and Processes your Personal Data 

Your personal details will be registered on a list of training attendees for the course.  This will include your name, organisation and job title.  This list is used to confirm attendance for the training course. 

Upon completion of the course, Women’s Aid will issue a certificate listing the course attended, your name and the course date.   

Women’s Aid will also use your information to inform you of upcoming training events. 

Women’s Aid relies on [your explicit consent under Article 6(1)(a) in addition to Women’s Aid legitimate interest under Article 6(1)(f)] when Processing this Personal Data for the purposes of arranging and delivering the training course. 

Retention of Personal Data by the Training Department 

The Training Administrator retains data securely relating to enquiries and participant lists with email addresses n.  These are maintained for a period of 7 years.. 

We will not hold your Personal Data for longer than is necessary. We retain your Personal Data for as long as we need it for the purposes described in this Notice, or to comply with our obligations under applicable law and Revenue purposes. 

 e). Website Usage Data 

Technical details in connection with visits to this website are logged for our statistical purposes.  When you visit our website, the following information is retained about that visit: 

• the IP address of your internet connection; 

• the type of browser you are using; 

• the date and time you accessed our site; 

• the pages you accessed on our website and any documents you downloaded; and 

• the previous website from which you reached us, including any search terms used. 

Legal bases and purposes for which Women’s Aid collects and Processes your Personal Data: 

Women’s Aid will make no attempt to identify individual visitors, or to associate the technical details listed above with any individual. This information is used to allow us improve the information we are supplying to our users, find out how many people are visiting our sites and for statistical purposes. Some of the above information is used to create summary statistics which allow us to assess the number of visitors to the different sections of our site, discover what information is most and least used, inform us on future design and layout specifications, and help us make our site more user friendly. 

Any Processing of Personal Data in relation to website usage is carried out for the purposes of Women’s Aid Legitimate Interest under Article 6(1)(f) in ensuring it runs an effective website.   

Depending on the service that we are providing, and the information which you choose to disclose, Women’s Aid may collect  and Process Special Categories of Personal Data relating to you such as your racial or ethnic origin, nationality and data relating to your health.   

The legal bases on which we process Special Categories of Personal Data relating to you are that: 

• You have given your explicit consent to the Processing of your Personal Data; 

• Where we need to protect the vital interests of you or another; 

• The Processing is carried out in the course of our legitimate activities as a non-for-profit body; and/or 

• The Processing is necessary for the provision of health or social care. 

Special Category Personal Data may be Processed for statistical purposes on the condition it meets conditions set out to safeguard the identification of the Data Subject in addition to adhering to the principle of data minimisation.  Women’s Aid ensure that all personal and special categories of data are anonymised for reporting purposes. 

To deliver an effective level of service, it is necessary for the organisation to record information deemed relevant to the Woman’s circumstances. From time to time, while availing of a service, a Woman may disclose certain criminal data relating to her or a third party.  In adherence to the principle of data minimisation and only Processing Personal Data as is strictly necessary, we do not record personal information about Women or third parties that is not deemed relevant.  For example, Personal Data relating to criminal convictions such as shoplifting.  An exception, however, is where there are implications for safety of Women or staff and where this is the case, we may Process Personal Data relating to criminal convictions and offences in accordance with section 55(1)(b) of the Data Protection Act 2018. 

To protect the security of all Personal Data, Women’s Aid have appropriate technical and organisational security measures in place.  These include: 

• Encryption, and where appropriate and feasible, pseudonymisation of Personal Data; 

• Women’s Aid ensure the ongoing confidentiality, integrity, availability and resilience of Processing systems and services; 

• The ability to restore the availability and access to Personal Data in a timely manner in the event of a physical or technical incident; 

• We have Processes for regular testing, assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of both technical and organisational measures for ensuring the security of data Processing; and 

• Personnel who have access to the Personal Data are trained to ensure our work is carried out with complete confidentiality. 

a).Women’s Aid Direct ‘Face-to-Face’ Services 

Generally, the information you share with us about yourself, your family and others and your situation will be treated as confidential by Women’s Aid.  This means that only Women’s Aid staff will have access to this information unless you say otherwise. 

Sometimes during our support work with you, you may request us to speak/ we may suggest that we speak, to other agencies outside of Women’s Aid on your behalf (for example the Court Services, An Garda Síochána, Local Housing Authority, the Department of Social Protection). You do not have to give your permission; you can say no.   

However, sometimes we are legally required to share information to keep you and your family safe. We do not need your permission to do this but we will always try to discuss this with you as soon as we can, unless it risks safety to do this. The agencies that we usually share information with, in these cases are An Garda Síochána, social services, or other emergency services.   

Women’s Aid receives funding for our services.  Women’s Aid has to give reports to our funders to show the number of people we work with and how we are working with them.  This shows numbers of clients but it does not give any names or other information from which you might be identified. It is not possible to identify you from the numbers we give to our funders. This includes reports to the benefactors to our Emergency and Legal Fund. 

We might make your and other client’s stories anonymous, use pseudonyms and remove/change any identifying information and share this with funders, other agencies and researchers outside the organisation. 

We share information in this way to ensure that your or your family’s identity will never be released. 

If you become a beneficiary of our Emergency and Legal Fund, then your Personal Data will be collected and provided to administrators of the fund to submit the payment request to our  finance department.   

b). National Freephone Helpline 

The National Freephone Helpline does not record or retain Personal Data except in the following limited circumstances: 

• If you would like to make an appointment for Court Accompaniment, One to One Service or a third-party support service.  If the Helpline support staff are unable to transfer your call directly to the third party support service you require, we may ask you for your contact telephone number so we can request the support service to contact you, with your consent.   

• At times, Women’s Aid will be required to contact other agencies on your behalf.  This may require us to disclose your personal information to a third party, for example, your first name and phone number if you are seeking refuge accommodation.  In such circumstances, we will always ask for your consent prior to contacting a third party on your behalf and you are entitled to withdraw your consent at any time. 

• Women’s Aid have a duty of care and where we are concerned about the safety of your children, we are obliged to report child protection and welfare concerns to Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.  This is not a judgement on any client but we are merely fulfilling our responsibilities under the Children First Act 2015. 

c). Restrictions to sharing your data: Alleged Known Abuser (“AKA”) 

Women’s Aid do not record AKA names, such as spouses, partners and cohabitees names, on a woman’s files.   

Where there is a concern regarding child safety, the AKA’s name is required for Tusla Child First referrals.   

Women’s Aid acknowledges the general rule that personal information must be provided to anyone in relation to whom Women’s Aid holds Personal Data.  However, due to the sensitive nature of our work, safeguarding a public interest and safety concerns for women and children, Women’s Aid are legally protected under the provisions of Data Protection Act 2018, to restrict access to this data.   

d). Recipients of Data for Donations and Training Events 

We may disclose your Personal data to other organisations including third parties who we engage to provide services, such as outsourced service providers, payment processors, IT services providers, professional advisers and auditors. 

e). Transfer of Personal Data outside the European Economic Area (EEA) 

In general Women’s Aid do not transfer Personal Data outside the EEA.  However, if we are required to transfer your Personal Data outside of the EEA, including to a jurisdiction which is not recognised by the European Commission as providing for an equivalent level of protection for Personal Data as is provided for in the European Union, we will ensure that appropriate measures and documentation are in place to comply with our obligations under applicable law governing such transfers. These may include relying on an adequacy decision of the European Commission or entering into a contract governing the transfer that contains the ‘standard contractual clauses’ approved for this purpose by the European Commission. 

If you would like to receive further details of the measures that we have taken in this regard, please contact us at servicesmanager@womensaid.ie. 

f). Requirement to Provide Personal Data 

You are not under a statutory or contractual obligation to provide us with any Personal Data. However, if you wish to avail of our services, to attend our training events or to donate to Women’s Aid, we will require certain personal details relating to you.  If you do not provide us with the information required, we may not be in a position to assist you. 

You have the following rights, in certain circumstances and subject to certain restrictions, in relation to your Personal Data: 

• Right of Access: you have a right to request a copy of any Personal Data held by a Controller about you; 

• Right of Rectification: you have the right to request Controllers to rectify inaccurate or incomplete Personal Data they hold about you; 

• Right to erasure: you have the right to request us to to delete Personal Data that we hold about you.  This is sometimes referred to as the right to be forgotten; 

• Right to restrict or to object to Processing: you have the right to request that we no longer Process your Personal Data for particular purposes, or to object to our Processing of your Personal Data for particular purposes; 

• Data portability: you can request us to provide you, or a third party, with a copy of your Personal Data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format; and   

• Withdraw consent: where our processing our your personal data is based on you having provided your consent, you have the right to withdraw such consent.   

For further detailed information about your data protection rights please visit the website https://www.dataprotection.ie/ 

If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, you can talk to your Support Worker. 

Data Access Request Procedure 

Due to the nature of Personal Data held by the organisation and in keeping with our mission to safeguard women, Women’s Aid stipulate that data access requests are made in writing.  If you wish to make a data access request you can contact Women’s Aid by mailing servicesmanager@womensaid.ie  or by post to Services Manager, 5 Wilton Place, Dublin 2.   

You will be required to include the following details with your request to ensure Women’s Aid can accurately identify the appropriate records: 

• Full name provided when using our services; 

• Relevant time period(s) you accessed our services; 

• Any other information which may help us to locate your record; and 

• Contact telephone number. 

Due to the sensitive nature of our services and the importance of confidentiality, you will be required to verify your identity (in person if possible) to access the information requested. The following verification documents are required and must be dated within the previous 3 months: 

• Proof of identity, such as passport, driving licence or birth certificate; and 

• Proof of address, such as utility bill, bank or credit card statement or revenue tax document.   

Upon receipt of your request, Women’s Aid will contact you to make an appointment for verification purposes within 2 to 3 weeks from the date your request was received.  Within 30 calendar days from the date we verify your identity, Women’s Aid will provide you with the information requested.  However, where requests are complex or numerous, Women’s Aid may extend the period of compliance by a further two months. 

Data access requests are free of charge.  However, we will charge a ‘reasonable fee’ when the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive, particularly if it is repetitive.  We may also charge a reasonable fee to comply with requests for further copies of the same information.  This fee is based on the administrative cost of providing the information.  

If you have concerns regarding your Personal Data  

If you are concerned with how your Personal Data is being collected, Processed or stored or if your rights about your Personal Data are not adhered to by this organisation, you can contact the Data Protection Commission online or by post as follows: 

Online:  https://www.dataprotection.ie/en/contact/how-contact-us 

Post: Data Protection Commission, 21 Fitzwilliam Square South, Dublin 2, D02 RD28, Ireland. 

Data Access Request Procedure

Due to the nature of Personal Data held by the organisation and in keeping with our mission to safeguard women, Women’s Aid stipulate that data access requests are made in writing.  If you wish to make a data access request you can contact Women’s Aid by emailing servicesmanager@womensaid.ie  or by post to Services Manager, 5 Wilton Place, Dublin 2.

You will be required to include the following details with your request to ensure Women’s Aid can accurately identify the appropriate records:

• Full name provided when using our services
• Relevant time period(s) you accessed our services
• Any other information which may help us to locate your record
• Contact telephone number

Due to the sensitive nature of our services and the importance of confidentiality, you will be required to verify your identity in person to access the information requested. The following verification documents are required and must be dated within the previous 3 months:

• Proof of identity, such as passport, driving licence or birth certificate
• Proof of address, such as utility bill, bank or credit card statement or revenue tax document.

Upon receipt of your request, Women’s Aid will contact you to make an appointment for verification purposes within 2 to 3 weeks from the date your request was received.  Within 30 calendar days from the date we verify your identity, Women’s Aid will provide you with the information requested.  However, where requests are complex or numerous, Women’s Aid may extend the period of compliance by a further two months.

Data access requests are free of charge.  However, we will charge a ‘reasonable fee’ when the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive, particularly if it is repetitive.  We may also charge a reasonable fee to comply with requests for further copies of the same information.  This fee is based on the administrative cost of providing the information.

If you have concerns regarding your data 

If you are concerned with how your data is being collected, processed or stored or if your rights about your data are not adhered to by an organisation, you can contact the Data Protection Commission online or by post as follows:

Online:  How to contact the Data Protection Commission

Post: Data Protection Commission, 21 Fitzwilliam Square South, Dublin 2, D02 RD28, Ireland.

Women’s Aid may occasionally update our Privacy Notice.  We encourage you to periodically review this Privacy Notice for the latest information on our privacy practices. 

This is a general privacy notice for anyone who may be connected to a woman who uses our services. 

In general, Women’s Aid only collects the personal data of women who access and use our services.  We may retain information about other individuals from women availing of our services but in these cases we only retain the minimum amount of information necessary for the purposes of complying with a legal obligation that applies to us, for the purposes of defending litigation, or for our legitimate interests in providing services to our users.   This information may include names, addresses, dates of birth, details about family circumstances and other information we may be legally obliged to collect, such as for any referral made to Tusla under child protection obligations.  In general, however, this information is recorded anonymously.  We may transfer personal data to regulatory authorities and law enforcement agencies.  We only store this information for the length of time necessary to comply with our legal obligations or to defend legal claims. 

Anyone whose personal data is collected and processed by Women’s Aid has the following rights: the right to access, rectification, objection, deletion, and portability. These rights are only available in certain circumstances and may not be available in some cases.  Women’s Aid takes the confidentiality of its service users very seriously and does not generally discuss any individual case with third parties.  Due to this confidentiality and the nature of Women’s Aid work of working with women experiencing abuse, it is Women’s Aid policy, where we are entitled to do so under applicable law, not to grant data protection requests made by other individuals as a result of the possible risk to women who use our services.  

If you proactively contact us regarding the recipient of our service, then we may inform the woman who avails of our service of this contact if it is in the interests of the woman to do so.  

If you have any comments or queries please refer to our Feedback Policy available on our website. 

If you are not happy with the way we have used your information or addressed your rights, you have the right to make a complaint to the Irish Data Protection Commission.