Cuan Saor Womens Refuge supporting and changing lives
Help for the Travelling Community
Violence and abuse within intimate relationships is a factor for a significant number of traveller women. However, while it is not possible to provide accurate prevalence data on the extent of this abuse within the Traveller community, there is no evidence to suggest that it is more or less prevalent than in the community in general. What is clear is that the legal and support mechanisms that have been introduced, and which are to a certain extent effective in facilitating settled women to eventually access safety from abuse, are not, for a number of reasons, as effective for traveller women.
Women’s roles in this close-knit society are primarily child centred and family oriented. Few women either work or live outside the family unit, and consequently they have few independent financial resources. Men are expected to be in charge of their families.
Young women tend to live within their husband’s extended family network, and in close proximity to his parents and siblings and their families. Such a family context can provide support, such as shared child care and prevents isolation for young women. However, in the event of domestic abuse, the other strong values of the community appear not only to counteract the supportive nature of such a closeknit familial lifestyle, but tend rather to emphasise the abused woman’s responsibility to the family system as a whole, ‘locking’ her into the abusive situation. The importance of marriage, which couples tend to enter into at a young age, is underscored by the pressure exerted on both parties to remain in the marriage at whatever cost. This reflects the traditional Catholic (and other religious) family values which many older women in all communities would cite as reasons for remaining in an abusive relationship.
“If you’re married, you’re married to stay”.
These intracultural pressures interact with the structural difficulties which exist in the systems and agencies on which abused women rely when seeking to access safety.
Finding a place in a refuge is always a difficulty for abused women, as Refuges are constantly full and must turn women away. For a traveller woman, her chances of getting a place are even slimmer, as most refuges have a policy of admitting only one traveller woman at a time.
Women also may not have the bus or taxi fare to bring her to the refuge, thus adding to the difficulty of her efforts to escape a violent situation.
If you feel you are in this situation Cuan Saor are here to help you,
please call our FREE 24 Hour Helpline 1800 57 67 57
Cuan Saor Womens Refuge supporting and changing lives
Cuan Saor provides the following services:
- Refuge accommodation (short-term crisis accommodation)
- 24 Hour/365 day Freephone helpline
- Support and information (drop-in or by appointment)
- Counselling
- Outreach to designated clinics in South Tipperary area
- Court Accompaniment Service
- Aftercare
- Training and Awareness-raising
- Child and Family Support
All services are free and confidential.
Simply dial the Freephone helpline 1800 576757 to access the service and a trained member of staff will listen and provide support and information and explain other aspects of services we provide. This service is available 24/7 365 days a year.
24 hour helpline 1800 57 67 57 Email support@cuansaor.org
Cuan Saor's Vision:
Cuan Saor has a vision of society which respects the human rights of
women and children to live violence free.
Cuan Saor's Mission:
Cuan Saor’s Mission is to support all women and children
who have experienced domestic violence
Cuan Saor Womens Refuge supporting and changing lives
Supporting and
changing lives.
Get in Contact today with Cuan Saor, we have counsellors on hand to talk you through your experience
