Website to support victims of crime

A MOTHER whose son was murdered in Limerick four years ago will today launch a new website service for a charity which supported her family after the tragedy.

Gemma Coleman’s son, Pat, was attacked by a group of young men four years ago as he walked home after watching a GAA match.

Pat, a father-of-two in his 30s, was stabbed in the neck with a bottle and was later found dead in his home.

He was described as “a nice young man who had never been in trouble in his life”.

Ms Coleman will speak at the launch of Support After Crime Services’ new website in Cork today and recount the impact the crime had on her and her family, and how they survived with help and support from the charity.

Last year, Support After Crime Services assisted 1,321 people who had suffered as a result of crime.

Its founder and director, Sally Hanlon, said 159 people received support after their relatives were the victims of murder or manslaughter, while a further 153 were helped overcome the trauma of rape or sexual assault.

The number of women counselled exceeded men by 731 to 590.

“The young men are generally victims of assault, while the women were generally victims of rape, sexual assault or burglary,” Ms Hanlon said.

Her organisation dealt with a number of young teenage women who were raped and were counselled in the presence of a parent or guardian.

Support After Crime Services was founded by Ms Hanlon in Cork in 2006. The free, confidential service now helps victims in Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford.

The majority of those affected by crime were referred to the confidential service by gardaí.

Ms Hanlon said that the organisation put no time limit on providing help for people, many of whom often keep in contact for a number of years.

The charity has 40 volunteers and has just trained eight more who will be inducted today.

Meanwhile, Ms Hanlon is calling for a new service to help jury members who may have been traumatised by trial evidence.

“I have seen the visible distress of jury members during trials. If members of the public are summoned to perform jury duty for cases of murder, manslaughter and serious crimes of a sexual nature, they will hear and view graphic details of how the crime was committed which can be sad and distressing for the jury members. I am calling for a support service such as ours be made available to jury members on the completion of a trial,” Ms Hanlon said.

- Details of all the services offered by the charity, which also include accompanying victims to court, can be obtained at: supportaftercrimeservices.ie