Limerick-based NGO, Doras, launches support project for migrant victims of crime

Doras CEO John Lannon said the organisation is already helping a number of migrants in dealing with their issues and that he expects demand to increase in the future.

A new Migrant Victim Support Project will provide specialised assistance for migrant and refugee victims of crime to deal with growing demand, according to those behind the initiative.

Doras said that refugees and migrants can face various types of crime, from race-based or hate crimes to sexual violence, trafficking or more common, everyday incidents, but may be more reluctant to report those incidents to gardaí or other authorities.

The Migrant Victim Support Project was launched in Limerick and is looking to to address current gaps in service provision for victims of crime who have special protection needs.

Doras CEO John Lannon said the organisation - which has been in existence for 22 years - is already helping a number of migrants in dealing with their issues and that he expects demand to increase in the future.

"We would have found that there are a whole range of barriers to refugees and migrants," he said, referring to language and cultural barriers, prior experience with dealing with authorities, and even possible discrimination.

"It often gets complicated by immigration or asylum issues. 

An example would be a woman victim of domestic violence who might be reluctant to come forward because she feels her status here is linked to her husband's. She might not be aware of the fact that she can get an independent status.

"We expect that it will be quite busy because we are already supporting several people. The gap that we identified is [that] over the years we are constantly supporting people who are victims of crime.

"We know that the need is there."

Mr Lannon added that there was ongoing concern over human trafficking and whether Ireland's current safeguards were sufficient.

"We’ve seen throughout Europe and Ireland how efforts have been made to exploit Ukrainian women and children as they flee war and devastation. There have been numerous cases highlighted in the media, including that of a teenage girl from Ukraine who was taken into emergency care in Ireland amid fears she had been trafficked into Ireland. 

"Internationally, it is known that Ireland is not meeting minimum standards when it comes to tackling trafficking, although improvements are being made."

Doras Project Coordinator, Donnah Vuma, said: "Victims deserve a system that protects and supports them from day one and at every step of their recovery. Navigating the aftermath of a crime can be complex and each victim’s healing process can be different.

“Meeting the intersectional needs of these different groups is a challenge, we strongly believe in a multi-agency approach and that improving cultural understanding and sensitivity to the unique needs of migrant victims of crime is critical in making services accessible to them."

Among those welcoming the project was Bulelani Mfaco, a member of the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI).

“MASI has had to respond to cases of all forms of violence including sexual violence involving women and men who have come to Ireland seeking protection," he said. 

"Many refugees and migrants do not have the important family support they'd need when they experience violence, they can only rely on under-resourced NGOs. Supporting victims of crime needs to be at the centre of the criminal justice system's response to crime. This is particularly true for foreign nationals who may have no one else in the state to rely on.”