Irish Examiner View: Crilly has helped bring hope and light to the shadows

Sadly, counselling and safety-net organisations such as Mary Crilly’s, and others like it, are needed more than ever.

Mary Crilly during the Cork Sexual Violence Centre's tattoo campaign at third level campuses around sexual assault. Picture: Larry Cummins

There are few more worthy candidates in receipt of the honour of the Freedom of the City of Cork than Mary Crilly, the doughty and longstanding campaigner against sexual and domestic violence.

Admittedly, Ms Crilly is a Dubliner by birth, but Corkonians like nothing better than a Daniel come to judgement, and she has been an essential force for good since helping to found the charity which began assisting sexual assault survivors as the Cork Rape Crisis Centre on March 8, 1983.

It later changed its name to more accurately reflect the range of clients who avail of its services and now also provides succour for those who have suffered from sex trafficking, female genital mutilation, and stalking.

It handles 400 individual cases annually, accompanies those who have been raped to hospital and to court, actively campaigns for changes in how victims and perpetrators are treated, and runs a free helpline every day of the year.

Sadly, after 40+ years, counselling and safety-net organisations such as Ms Crilly’s, and others like it, are needed more than ever. While cases such as that laid out in the allegations between the actors Amber Heard and Johnny Depp often command the headlines, it is in the dark shadows that the majority of transgressions and acts of intimidation occur.

Just this week, the Galway-based Direct Violence Response group reported how Covid-19 restrictions were used as a tactic to inflict further control, enforce isolation, impose strict and excessive cleaning routines, and punishments on women. A significant increase in disclosures on sexual abuse was also recorded by staff.

Under these circumstances, it is disappointing that Ireland will not reach the required number of domestic violence refuge spaces until the end of the decade, as indicated recently by Justice Minister Helen McEntee.

While at least 100 more domestic violence refuge spaces could be established by the end of next year, it may be eight more years before Ireland meets the targets set out in the Istanbul Convention. This requires the Government to increase the number by around 350.

Nine counties currently do not have dedicated domestic violence refuges, although Carlow and Offaly will have facilities provided in the short-term.

The Depp trial was told that, after allegedly striking Ms Heard, he had apologised “profusely” and said: “I’d rather cut my hand off than lay it on you.”

“He had that way of talking like poetry,” she said.

Many of those on the receiving end of violence from their partners will be familiar with the sense of regret and shame which can follow from the perpetrator.

But we will leave the last word to Mary Crilly: “I want my legacy to be that we are shocked and appalled by all sexual violence. That we don’t tolerate it in any way.”