A new report highlighting the chronic lack of services for women experiencing domestic violence in the north-west will be presented at a conference in Donegal town on Monday.
"Tailoring Our Solutions" was commissioned by the north west regional planning committee on violence against women, set up following a Government task force recommendation.
It looked at all forms of violence, both within and outside the home. In Counties Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal there are just three "frontline" services - the Rape Crisis Centres in Sligo and Letterkenny and a women's refuge in Letterkenny. It found all three struggling with issues of "funding, structure, prioritising of services and the need for legislative and societal changes on violence against women".
The Donegal Women's Refuge started an outreach service with a staff of three in May. Co-ordinator Ms Colleen Boyle said clinics had only been held in two areas of Donegal this autumn, but there was already evidence of huge demand. In September and October they saw 38 women, 15 of whom were seeking help for the first time. Many women are referred through public health nurses, gardai or substance abuse counsellors where the abusive man has an alcohol or drug problem.
"A lot of the women we are seeing are in their 40s. They are women who have been in a relationship for 20 odd years but they didn't feel they had a right to complain, they didn't recognise that they didn't have to put up with it," she said.
"The details of some of these stories are just horrific - not the kind of thing you could print - it is so distressing you have to try to switch off," Ms Boyle said.
Working under the slogan, "Break the silence", a large part of their work will concentrate on informing people and changing attitudes. In what is still a largely traditional region, people tend to turn a blind eye to male violence against women in the home - and women think they have to put up with abuse.
"People are giving lip service but I think it is still condoned. I don't think we have even got the message fully across to women that what they are living with is not acceptable," she said.
The lack of services is a major problem. The refuge in Letterkenny - the only one in the north-west - can only take two women and nine children.
Ms Boyle said while more refuge places were obviously needed, developing outreach services was the priority now. "This allows women to look at their options before making a decision and we find this is what a lot of women want."
The "Tailoring Our Solutions" report highlights the need for a refuge and support and information service for the Sligo-Leitrim area, and for an awareness-raising programme in the region.
It says sexual violence should be recognised as a key element in domestic violence cases and workers should get training to deal with this.
The two rape crisis centres, it was found, relied heavily on volunteers and community employment scheme workers. A lack of transport meant women had difficulties accessing services and a lack of funding meant it was not possible to carry out awareness work.
It was found that women who had experienced domestic violence had suffered a wide range of different types of abuse. Overall, 21 per cent of women who used the services experienced sexual abuse.