National Policy and Representation

SAFE IRELAND is the national representative body for Domestic Violence services in Ireland. In this role we place issues arising through services and from women at the centre of our work.

We believe that women and children have a right to live free from domestic violence and that the men who commit crimes should be held accountable for them.

We work at national level to progress our social change agenda and to deepen an understanding of the work carried out by services throughout the country. We lobby for resources to enable services to meet the needs of women and children who experience domestic violence and we continue to work with the Irish government to advocate for a “whole of government” response to the crime of domestic violence. We believe that to address domestic violence holistically in society we need to enable civic society to understand and take up its responsibilities towards women and children who experience violence.

Objectives:

Develop further opportunities for members to engage with and support the National representative and advocacy work
Continue to build effective and strategic working relationships with government departments, key statutory agencies and relative stakeholders
Maintain an independent voice to negotiate and progress a social change agenda that represents the issues identified by the Network
Widen our sphere of influence through the development of relationships with strategic allies

SAFE Ireland Representation

2011

To date in 2011 SAFE Ireland has been represented and participated in the following committees:

National Steering Committee (NSC) on Violence Against Women
National Steering Committee Public Awareness Sub Committee (Chairperson)
National Steering Committee Legal Issues Sub Committee
COSC One Stop Shop Committee
Mayo Childrens Initiative
National Centre for the Protection of Older People’s (NCPOP) service user group-2011

2010

In 2010 SAFE Ireland was represented and participated in the following committees:

National Steering Committee (NSC) on Violence Against Women
National Steering Committee Public Awareness Sub Committee
National Steering Committee Legal Issues Sub Committee
COSC One Stop Shop Committee
HSE Oversight Implementation Committee
HSE Training Committee
HSE Standardisation Committee
HSE Service User Involvement Committee
Mayo Childrens Initiative
Sonas/ Dun Laoghaire Refuge Feasibility Study Advisory Group
Akidwa FGM Health Forum

In 2010 SAFE Ireland made the following presentations:

Presentation to COSC ‘A Changing Landscape: Strategic Service Development in Ireland’
Presentation to HSE Standardisation Committee ‘A Changing Landscape: Strategic Service Development in Ireland’
Presentation to HSE Service User Involvement Group: Centre Staging Women and Children in Service Development: Outcome Evaluation
Participation on Boston College Exchange Programme
Presented at Corporate Community Conference ‘Rock and a Heart Place’

2009

In 2009 SAFE Ireland was represented and participated in the following committees:

National Steering Committee (NSC) on Violence Against Women
National Steering Committee Public Awareness Sub Committee
National Steering Committee Legal Issues Sub Committee
Sonas/ Dun Laoghaire Refuge Feasibility Study Advisory Group
Akidwa FGM Health Forum

In 2009 SAFE Ireland made the following presentations:

Presentation at WAVE Conference in Vienna ‘Update of quality standards in women’s services’

2008

In 2008 SAFE Ireland was represented and participated in the following committee:

National Steering Committee (NSC) on Violence Against Women
National Steering Committee Public Awareness Sub Committee
National Steering Committee Legal Issues Sub Committee
Sonas/ Dun Laoghaire Refuge Feasibility Study Advisory Group
Women’s Health Council Research Advisory Committee
HSE Standardisation of Pay and Conditions National Working Group
Akidwa FGM Health Forum

In 2008 SAFE Ireland made the following presentations:

1st World Conference of Women’s Shelters (Canada) Plenary ‘What Women Wanted and What they Received from Shelter: Findings from the United States and Ireland’. Click here to see presentation >>
Scottish Women’s Aid: Think Globally, Act Locally – End domestic abuse by tackling gender inequality. ‘Domestic Violence Services and Outcome Evaluation in Ireland’. Click here for further details >>