What We Do
NETWORKING
Valuing our membership of the Network Of Rape Crisis Centres Ireland & The Rape Crisis Network Europe, The End Violence Against Women Coalition (UK) and The Women’s National Commission and working with them to eradicate all forms of violence against women both at home and abroad. Working with Amnesty International, Women’s Aid and others to ensure that VAW is recognised as a human rights violation. Working with other professionals and organisations to end sexualised violence and abuse.
CLIENT SERVICES
This part of the report outlines the range of services provided by the Rape Crisis & Sexual Abuse Centre NI. While we consider our counselling role to be an important one, we would also wish to stress the fact that to many of our clients the other services we provide are just as or even more important. The fact that a client may not wish to engage in therapy does not mean that she/he cannot avail of our other services. There are many ways in which the Centre helps clients. The following pages will briefly describe these. Our Services are open to female and male survivors of all forms of sexual violence and abuse and to non-abusing families, partners and friends trying to support them, or in need of counselling themselves. We see people immediately, do not operate a waiting list as we are a Crisis Service. We do not charge on a sliding scale, ask for, or accept donations, from our clients, or their supporters while they are in counselling.
CRISIS COUNSELLING HELPLINE
Our telephone counselling service is the only specialised help line in Northern Ireland for survivors of sexual abuse and rape. During the period from 10am - 6pm phones are answered from our Centre, between 6pm - 12 midnight calls are directed to counsellors own homes. Although these are the official opening hours in cases of an emergency it is worthwhile to try to get through. Some of our counsellors continue to take calls into the early morning hours.
We would of course hope that with adequate funding in the future that this service would be further developed into a fully covered 24-hour service. Many people who would never come in for face-to-face counselling prefer the anonymity of the telephone. Our Crisis line is never answered by anyone who is not a fully trained counsellor. This however means that quite often an answering machine must be left on when all the counsellors are engaged, but we will ring back immediately, those who are prepared to leave numbers.
The increasing number of mobile phones being used means that more clients are willing to do this rather than give a landline home or work number. Many continue to communicate with counsellors this way outside Centre hours.
Due to financial problems and lack of funding we were forced to suspend our Freephone Helpline service, however we intend to resume this service by the end of April 2006 if funding permits. We have always offered to ring clients back who may not be able to afford telephone bills and continue to do so.
COUNSELLING
Is available in the centre from Monday to Friday between 10am and 6pm. If there are reasons why clients cannot come in during these hours weekend and evening appointments can be arranged.
Our counsellors have considerable experience and are highly trained in the specific problems facing the survivors of sexual violence and abuse. They are Northern Ireland’s only counsellors, trained, accredited and registered with the Rape Crisis Network Ireland. They abide by the British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy’s Ethical Code and our own strict Confidentiality Policy.
The counselling we offer is eclectic, non judgmental and woman centred. It is generally based on Rogerian principles, but our work with women will also usually include elements of feminist behavioural therapy in the form of assertiveness training and confidence building. We respect our clients as equals and consider ourselves privileged to be allowed to work with them, sharing in their healing process and supporting them in their transformation from victim to survivor – from surviving to thriving. 
Our counselling is in the main non-directive, except in cases where the women or her children are in danger from further abuse. In these cases we must work with the client and present options based on our past experiences with other women. We will encourage women to make positive decisions for themselves and their children. While there are many classic and recognisable effects of rape and sexual abuse, every woman’s experience of abuse and their coping strategies are to some degree unique. Our client’s own the counselling process and are regarded as the experts on their own abuse.
PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING OUR COUNSELLING
Our counselling services and all our other services to individual clients are absolutely free of charge. We do not ask our clients for donations and we do not charge on a sliding scale.
Waiting Times
As our title implies we are a crisis service and we see clients who have just been assaulted immediately. The same applies to parents who have just discovered their child has been sexually abused. For those whose abuse happened some time ago we can see them generally within a week. Weekly or fortnightly appointments are guaranteed beginning at the first appointment.
Confidentiality
We offer survivors complete confidentiality regarding their own abuse. In cases where we have full details of a particular child still being abused we will work with the client to help them to report. We will only consider breaking confidentiality in the above circumstances where a child is known to be in danger and this situation rarely occurs. If it does and the adult cannot or refuses to protect the child we will tell the client of our proposed action. It is however a rare event that a conflict of interests arises. When it does our priority must lie with the most powerless and vulnerable. Most cases we are involved with are actually a reverse situation of the above scenario and involve clients who have been disbelieved by the system. In such cases we work with the woman to find ways in which she can protect herself and any children involved from further abuse.
Many women have come to us in recent years threatened with imprisonment because they would not hand small children to ex-partners who were sexually abusive. We have a new support group set up this year to support parents, primarily mothers who have been unfairly treated by social services, which will be discussed later in this report.
We owe abusers no confidentiality.
If an abuser rings the Centre we will get as much information as we can from him and pass it on to the relevant statutory agencies and the PSNI.
Our diaries are absolutely confidential. They will never be handed over to any individual or agency without the woman’s express permission.
If a woman wishes it we can make these available to the police and courts if she decides at a later date to report her rape or abuse. This has often helped women who years later have decided to report to the police, our diaries can show that they told someone years before.
We have refused to break our clients confidentiality even on the threat of imprisonment .
We no longer keep case notes that that our client’s contact with the Centre can not be used against them in court.
Home Visits
We offer strictly limited home visits to women who for a variety of reasons cannot come to the Centre.
Unfortunately lack of financial resources and personnel means we have to restrict these to Survivors who have specific problems outlined below. (We have a new intake of volunteer counsellors and hope to increase the amount of home visits possible in 2006.)
- Survivors in immediate crisis – who have just been raped or abused within the last month and may be still shocked. Parents who have just found out their children have been sexually abused.
- Survivors who are disabled who are unable to travel, climb stairs; because of illness, disability or injury.
- Survivors who are very elderly & infirm.
- Survivors who are agoraphobic.
- Women with insurmountable child care difficulties. We do have a room adjoining our main counselling room equipped with toys for women who wish to bring children with them and if adequate notice is given it may be possible to make arrangements for someone to remain with the child so the woman has privacy during counselling. We are prepared to talk to people and offer support, who are accompanied by children but not in a counselling situation.
Home visits generally have to be restricted to once a month. In emergency a visit will be carried out the same or next day. Non-emergencies may have to wait a few weeks. This service is available to women all over Northern Ireland. If for reasons of confidentiality the woman wishes to meet us in another safe place outside her house but cannot get to Belfast we will try to arrange this.
Survivors are offered tea and coffee in the Centre, they can bring someone with them especially the first time they come, to come in to the counselling room or to wait for them, they are free to smoke cigarettes if they wish, this will obviously need to be reconsidered due to impending legislation and changing attitudes in society. Counselling sessions generally last an hour, but our counsellors are not ‘clock watchers’. See Information Pack for help if you are reading this and you wish to avail of the services.