Appeal not to cut vital overseas funding

FORMER President Mary Robinson has appealed to the Irish government not to cut vital funds for overseas development as such a move could lead to an increase of violence against women.

Speaking in Dublin, the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stressed that at a time when Irish people themselves were feeling the pain of the recession, reducing help for the most vulnerable could not be an option.

Attending the annual meeting of the country’s Joint Consortium on Gender Based Violence, Ms Robinson said that less resources for developing communities was actually leading to an increase in violence against women.