Former Galway Magdalene laundry to become domestic violence refuge

amiable

http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0415/381537-magdalene-laundry-galway-cope/

Plans have been announced to turn the site of the former Magdalene laundry in Galway into a domestic violence refuge.
The Sisters of Mercy has donated its convent at Forster Street in the city to the COPE charity on a 99-year lease.
The charity approached the order earlier this year after a lengthy search for suitable premises in the city.
COPE CEO Jacquie Horan said its existing accommodation was not fit for purpose and did not have the capacity to deal with the number of clients who are referred.
She said the order had been very amenable to the idea.
A detailed examination of the site will now be carried out to assess what needs to be done to turn it into a suitable space for women and children suffering from domestic violence.
The charity is hopeful that it will be in a position to operate from the building by the end of the year.

biko

Brilliant and much needed.

snubbleste

I see that it will be discriminatory ie. favoring female over male victims of domestic violence.

biko

No, it's not unless you can show that "Male victims of female violence" also applied to Sisters of mercy and was turned down because of gender.
One doesn't exclude nor discriminate the other.

Actually it's Cope that you should protest outside.

Lapin

snubbleste wrote: »

I see that it will be discriminatory ie. favoring female over male victims of domestic violence.

Did any of the bodies assisting the victims of male violence approach the Sisters of Mercy with a view to using the building as a refuge ?


To be fair, the nuns have been generous in recent years in allowing various groups to use the building for different purposes. They haven't been discriminatory at all.

snubbleste

You'll find that Cope are paid by the HSE & Galway City Council to furnish services for the homeless to include refuges. 79% of their Cope's income came from the HSE & GCC in 2011.
You'd think that the State would not discriminate on grounds of gender yet the taxpayer indirectly funds gender-discriminatory refuges.
There is no domestic violence refuge for men with children in Galway.

biko

Interesting number, do you have a source?
Indeed, abused men is a problem too but it's typical that it only comes up when the abused women get something.
The Fairgreen Shelter for homeless men is also run by Cope btw, as well as Osterley Lodge for homeless women.
I suspect all of these services and more are partly funded by GCC/HSE.

On topic, does it mention the number of places at the convent?
www.copegalway.ie doesn't mention it, just that it had to turn away people.

In addition to the structural issues and limitations of the Waterside House building, the capacity of the current refuge is also inadequate. During 2012, Waterside House accommodated 100 women and their families but did not have sufficient capacity to accommodate a further 200 referrals of women and families, who had to be referred elsewhere for safety and support.

snubbleste

It's on page 16 of their 2011 annual report.

Good for cope but 'donate on a 99 year lease' is a bit iffy - the Sisters Of Mercy promised the state €108 million in property - they should transfer full ownership to the state.

amiable

Deleted User wrote: »

Good for cope but 'donate on a 99 year lease' is a bit iffy - the Sisters Of Mercy promised the state €108 million in property - they should transfer full ownership to the state.

99 year lease is often the way these type of things work.
I'm not sure it's as iffy as you seem to suspect.

biko

99 Year Lease Explained

100200 shih

Cope house in Galway can only take in 6 women at a time, for the whole of the Co Galway, It has been running from the same location , may I add right beside the court house for the past 32 years & are badly in need of new location.

For men there is a service called Amen, in which they can gain support. If you have a problem with there not been a place for men to go to , you should contact Amen & see what you can do to help them, then contact your local TD & demand funding for this & then you can start fundraising for Amen as COPE are fundraising year in , year out.
It would serve your time better to do something about the issue than giving out on your laptop,

I have seen first hand how brilliant COPE are and that the women that work in there are angels,

Mrs OBumble

Deleted User wrote: »

Good for cope but 'donate on a 99 year lease' is a bit iffy - the Sisters Of Mercy promised the state €108 million in property - they should transfer full ownership to the state.

Firstly, Cope is not the state - it's a NGO that has contracts to do various work for the state.

Second, it's possible that the nuns aren't actually free to give the land/building away - depending on how it was obtained by them in the first place. For instance if someone willed it to them, there may be conditions that they have to meet. (I've no knowledge of this specific situation, but have had some involvement in cases where well-meaning people put restrictive clauses in their gifts, but these very clause turned the "gift" into a white elephant a couple of generations later.)

And - you do realise that the Catholic Church in general is actually delighted with the idea of handing property over to the state - and having the state pick up the (often substantial) maintenance costs associated with it? They won't be saying it publically, but the winners and losers in such arrangements are often not as they seem.

Mrs OBumble

snubbleste wrote: »

You'll find that Cope are paid by the HSE & Galway City Council to furnish services for the homeless to include refuges. 79% of their Cope's income came from the HSE & GCC in 2011.
You'd think that the State would not discriminate on grounds of gender yet the taxpayer indirectly funds gender-discriminatory refuges.
There is no domestic violence refuge for men with children in Galway.

Oh yawn.

Given the relative proportions of men vs women who experience domestic violence, it's fairly clear that "bulk" facilities are needed for women but not for men. Grant, this may change as longer-term same-sex partnerships become more common (excess testosterone having its effects) - but it hasn't happened yet.

Snubbeste, if you or someone you know is a male experiencing domestic violence, I would encourage you/them to approach Cope - if they cannot assist you, I'm sure that they will refer you to a service that can. This may not be a "refuge" as a specific place - often a plan and alternative are more helpful than one "safe house".

inisboffin

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Grant, this may change as longer-term same-sex partnerships become more common (excess testosterone having its effects) - but it hasn't happened yet.

.

Whaaaa?:p

Mrs OBumble

inisboffin wrote: »

Whaaaa?:p

It's all about populatin proportions, gender based behaviour patterns, and family violence developing over time.

If you don't believe me that males are more likely to be violent, go into any national school and observe the kids behaviour: boys are more likely to be violent in their abuse, girls are more likely to be emotionally nasty. Look at adult crime statistics - proportions of the population convicted of assault.

Overall, violence is illegal, bitchiness isn't (except in employment situations where it's called "bullying" if it's sustained over time). And far more people need to access "refuge" service to escape from violence than from bitchiness.

And as I said, it's about trends/proportions: there are some individuals whose behaviour don't fit the usual patterns. So there are some men who are physically abused by female partners - just not nearly as many as there are the other way around. And there are some men who expereince violence from their male partners: support workers where I come from reported that this became more common as civil unions became more common.

jkforde

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Look at adult crime statistics - proportions of the population convicted of assault.

yes that's true as far as physical assault but what are the statistics for the insidious form of emotional assault or bullying or would that just fall into your catch-all category of 'female bitchiness'? anyone who's a victim of assault deserves a refuge and time to reorganize their lives regardless of gender.

inisboffin

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

It's all about populatin proportions, gender based behaviour patterns, and family violence developing over time.

If you don't believe me that males are more likely to be violent, go into any national school and observe the kids behaviour: boys are more likely to be violent in their abuse, girls are more likely to be emotionally nasty. Look at adult crime statistics - proportions of the population convicted of assault.
.

It was less a 'whaaa' about gender statistics and more the can of worms that your comment was peering into with regard to same sex couples (by the way I honestly wasn't sure if you were referring to male or female same sex couples, and couldn't quite figure the testosterone reference in that context).
There is domestic abuse between any gender combinations, and yes of course statistics do tilt a certain way, but I wouldn't see anything new in terms of statistics between same sex couples, (that have been affected by recent legislation).
I would also echo what jkforde said regarding emotional abuse being prevalent, although I suspect figures would also show a gender tilt.

Mrs OBumble

jkforde wrote: »

yes that's true as far as physical assault but what are the statistics for the insidious form of emotional assault or bullying or would that just fall into your catch-all category of 'female bitchiness'? anyone who's a victim of assault deserves a refuge and time to reorganize their lives regardless of gender.

Emotional "assault" / bullying is not illegal, and never directly killed anyone. Physical assault is, and does. Big difference.

Ideally, people who have been assaulted should not have to leave their homes and go into a refuge. If someone has to leave, it should be the perpetrator.

However experience shows that people who have been on the receiving end of physical violence from a partner are often not safe in their homes. And assault figures show that the vast majority of assaults are carried out by males. That is why there is a population need for women's refuges. A far smaller number of men, and especially men who have custody of children, are in that situation, so there is not the need for an institutional approach.

jkforde

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Emotional "assault" / bullying is not illegal, and never directly killed anyone. Physical assault is, and does. Big difference.

Not disputing that, I'm just highlighting the fact that mental domestic violence is not spoken about and the fact that you put the word assault in inverted commas in your 'emotional assault' phrase implies to me that you don't believe that emotional/mental domestic torture is an altogether common but hushed up and unseen form of domestic violence.

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Ideally, people who have been assaulted should not have to leave their homes and go into a refuge. If someone has to leave, it should be the perpetrator. However experience shows that people who have been on the receiving end of physical violence from a partner are often not safe in their homes. And assault figures show that the vast majority of assaults are carried out by males. That is why there is a population need for women's refuges. A far smaller number of men, and especially men who have custody of children, are in that situation, so there is not the need for an institutional approach.

...so 'there is not the need for an institutional approach.' Why not? For sure a far smaller resource is needed but an institutional approach is exactly what's required.

Anyway, glad to hear COPE are getting more spacious accommodation, just saying that traditional gender prejudices shouldn't be used to exclude someone who needs help from domestic violence.

100200 shih

Anyway, glad to hear COPE are getting more spacious accommodation, just saying that traditional gender prejudices shouldn't be used to exclude someone who needs help from domestic violence.[

/QUOTE]


As pointed out already, there is AMEN for men who need help from domestic violence, so they are not been excluded from help if they seek it.

jkforde

good article in the Guardian on the UK's Clare's Law.. www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/apr/21/a-history-of-violence-clares-law

...with this statistic... "one in four women and one in six men will suffer some kind of domestic abuse during their lifetime."

Mrs OBumble

jkforde wrote: »

good article in the Guardian on the UK's Clare's Law.. www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/apr/21/a-history-of-violence-clares-law

...with this statistic... "one in four women and one in six men will suffer some kind of domestic abuse during their lifetime."

Domestic abuse is not the same as domestic violence.

You may like to do some reading here for Irish statistics - a some calm statements about the average levels and severity of abuse experienced by each gender.

Among other things, it includes elderly people being manipulated by their children and caregivers, and also parents being assaulted by their children, and also emotional abuse which, though upsetting, is not normally life-threatening.

Men who try to equate these to partner-to-partner relationship violence are usually pushing an certain agenda.

jkforde

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Men who try to equate these to partner-to-partner relationship violence are usually pushing an certain agenda.

thanks for the stats link, very interesting. btw, what kind of certain agenda do you think these certain men are pushing? open & uncensored debate of issues, however biased (every belief is subjective & based on past experience) is the cornerstone of democracy I believe. someone getting touchy about alternative views and/or accusing another of pushing an agenda is usually a sign of closed or somewhat bigoted mind. I'd rather live in a society where open respectful debate is championed over a bunch of chip-on-their-shoulder bigots grand standing.
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