Let's talk about - 11th November 2009

Written by Staff Reporter

Wednesday, 11 November 2009

This week I'd like to talk about what GRCC does and what we don't do.
You may have noticed us at the church gates recently. Thank you for all your contributions. We are still counting, but it's looking like we have raised €10,000! We are amazed by this. Your kind wishes were also gratefully received. Especial thanks to all the volunteers who helped out.

As I said before, it's not easy fundraising for GRCC. Why? Because people are often associated with the charity they work with. Of course, some of our volunteers are survivors but no more than the average population, so mostly they are not.

GRCC fundraises to make up the shortfall after the government funding. We get this funding because we provide much needed services and are the recognised professionals in our field. We can provide this service very cheaply with the help of our many administrative, board, legal, fundraising and call-out volunteers who work alongside the staff.

Staff members who provide the specialist counselling also rigorously train all the volunteers who work directly with clients. Following their training, these dedicated volunteers provide 24-hour call-out for recent assaults, acting as a support for a person in the immediate aftermath of a sexual assault. These volunteers help people attending the new Sexual Assault Treatment Unit make decisions about what is best for them and to help them access the support they need.

Most of our clients, however, take a number of years before they seek help. They first contact us through our freephone helpline and are then offered crisis and/or long-term counselling. We provide non-directive counselling because we strongly believe that we need to allow people to empower themselves in order to recover from sexual violence. We maintain a strict confidentiality around all this and never break the confidence of the survivor unless we think they are at risk of suicide. We can also help family and friends to support the survivors in their lives.

What we don't do? We don't tell wives to leave their husbands, as someone once told me they thought we did. We don't force people to report to the Gardaí or attend doctors. But, if they want to, we will go with them. Finally, we don't just provide services for women, even though males only make up 12 per cent of our clients. I will address the reasons for this next week.

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