‘Incredibly upsetting’ 12 year old children are contacting Donegal Rape Crisis Centre, says Pringle
Children aged 12 are contacting the Donegal Rape Crisis Centre after suffering sexual violence, it’s been reported.
The centre has had to apply to the RTÉ Toy Show for funding such is the demand for its services, Independent TD Thomas Pringle told the Dáil. He described the situation as ‘devastating’.
“On multiple occasions in this Chamber, I have raised the fact that the Donegal Rape Crisis Centre has had to apply for funding from the RTÉ toy show appeal to enable it to reduce the age of access to its services from 14 to 12 because of the high demand for services for younger people.
"This year, the centre will receive €16,000 from the appeal for therapies for 12-to-18-year-olds affected by the trauma of sexual violence. What happens if the toy show goes on to somewhere else? Will this all stop?” he asked.
Deputy Pringle said it was ‘incredibly upsetting’ children are presenting at the centre and that perpetrators are often the same age.
“It is devastating that in County Donegal, children as young as 12 are now contacting the centre to report incidents of sexual violence. In many cases, the offending party is of a similar age.
"This shows that not only is there a rise in the number of young people experiencing sexual violence but also a rise in the number of young people perpetrating sexual violence.
"This is incredibly upsetting. We need to talk directly to our young boys and men about this situation because this problem lies with them. We cannot continue to put this burden on women. The responsibility lies with us men to deal with it,” he said.