The Galway Rape Crisis Centre's annual report, which was launched on Monday, contains strong criticisms of the way in which the Irish government handles refugees.

Labour Party President Michael D Higgins pictured at the official launch of the GRCC Report on the Asylum Seeker and Refugee Service in the Radisson SAS on Monday morning. Also pictured are Rape Crisis Counsellors Jenny Swannock, Aoibheann McCann and Joan Sheridan. Photo: Reg Gordon

In the report, the Centre condemns the system by which asylum seekers are dealt with in this country, saying that the feelings of powerlessness felt by victims of sexual violence are made worse by the prescriptive nature of their treatment. Asylum seekers in Ireland cannot choose their own accommodation, cannot work, and are given an allowance of €19.10 per week.

The Galway Rape Crisis Centre treats the highest proportion nationally of asylum seekers and refugees who have suffered sexual violence in their home country, with this group making up 21 per cent of the centre's referrals.

Launching the centre's annual report on its Asylum Seeker and Refugee Clinic last Monday, Deputy Michael D Higgins paid tribute to the centre's staff who had facilitated the service to a diverse range of refugees and asylum seekers affected by rape.

He commended the skill and sensitivity of those dealing with women who had suffered rape as a weapon of war in countries like the Congo, and said that funding for this programme must be continued on a mainstream basis as the original funding came from the Dormant Accounts Fund.

Speaking at the launch in the Radisson Hotel on Monday, Deputy Higgins said that the Rape Crisis Centre was exemplary in how it had spent the funding obtained under the Dormant Account Funds. However, he stressed the urgency of continuing this programme through mainstream funding. Deputy Higgins also emphasised the frugal way in which every penny had been spent to maximum effect and called for mainstream statutory funding to ensure a future for the service.

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