YWCA Ireland

11/03/2026

YWCA Ireland member Shalom participated in the National Women's Council Youth Advisory Panel last Saturday. Shalom shares more:

'I had the pleasure of attending the National Women’s Council Youth Advisory Panel on Saturday, and it was an incredibly inspiring day. We heard from a range of women involved in politics who shared their experiences and insights into public life.

A strong and ongoing theme throughout the day was resilience — the determination it takes not only to enter politics, but to remain, grow, and lead within it. Hearing these stories was both motivating and a powerful reminder of why representation matters.

The National Women’s Council continues to do vital work encouraging more women to step into politics while also supporting them to stay and thrive once they’re there.'

24/11/2025

17/11/2025

Prayer as Action.

Our prayers for justice shouldn't end with 'Amen.' Our prayers for justice should be demonstrated in our words and actions every day.

YWCA Ireland is celebrating 150 years this year - and we're so thankful for the generations of women who came before us who put their prayers into actions.

15/01/2025

We're so excited about the first ever Kyria NI Conference on Saturday 1 March from 9.30-4.30pm. It is going to be a great day of faith, refreshment and encouragement.

YWCA Ireland's CEO Claire is facilitating a leadership discussion which also includes our amazing Vice-Chair, Emma!

Join us and book your ticket now!
**Link is in our bio**

11/12/2024

Last month, our Vice-Chair Emma Bowie attended the .aid 50th anniversary conference in Dublin. Emma shares:

'First of all, it was so encouraging to be in the same room as so many passionate, inspiring, dedicated women working in domestic violence prevention and awareness.

The content of the panel sessions themselves were excellent, with input from academics, NGOs and victim-survivors. The 'Addressing Po*******hy and Online Abuse' session was particularly sobering, as research from the Sexual Exploitation Research and Policy Institute was discussed, revealing the pernicious relationship between po*******hy consumption and violence against women. The Coercive Control panel was also very interesting from a legal perspective as this is a relatively new offence in Ireland.

Overall it was a brilliantly insightful day. It is obviously a sobering thought that there has been a need for Women's Aid for 50 years but I ultimately left the anniversary conference on a hopeful note.'

Thank you to .aid for all the work it does to support women and to end VAW in Ireland.

We're all praying that we don't need such an agency in 50 years time...

10/12/2024

In the six weeks between 18 August and 1 October 2024, four women were allegedly murdered in six weeks in NI, according to the Police Service of Northern Ireland:

• On 18 August 2024 Sophie Watson, who was 57, was found dead at a property in Ashgrove Park in Magherafelt, County Londonderry with a number of stab wounds.

• Montserrat Elias, 66, was originally from Spain but had been living in Londonderry and died on 24 August 2024. She had suffered multiple injuries from an unspecified weapon before a ground floor flat was set on fire.

• On 13 September 2024, the body of Rachel Simpson, 44, was found in a garage in Belfast. Her 21-year-old son Nathan Simpson has been charged with her murder. He remains in custody.

• Mary Ward, a 22-year-old mother of one, who was found dead from wounds to her neck in her south Belfast home on 1 October 2024.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8memlgdrgo

Pray:

➡️ against femicide which is the killing of women and girls by men. Femicide is both a cause and a result of gender inequality and discrimination, both of which are root causes of all violence against women.

➡️ for each family who is grieving across Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland

➡️ for transformative change in our culture, attitudes, laws, policies, institutions and provisions

➡️ for ZERO tolerance of .

As we close our 16 Days of Prayers Against Violence Against Women, thank you for joining us in prayer. This is not just a 16 days initiative, let’s commit to praying every day against this insidious injustice impacting girls and women in Ireland, NI and beyond.

If you need help and are based in ROI, you can contact the freephone 24-Hour National Helpline at 1800 77 8888, at any time of day or night.
If you need help and are based in NI, you can contact the free 24-Hour Helpline at 0808 802 1414.

09/12/2024

According to research by European Data Journalism Network published in 2024, the number of female r**e victims in Ireland is almost three times higher than the EU country average in 2022. The average number of women reporting r**e in Ireland stood at 34 per 100,000 of the female population – significantly higher than the average of almost 12 per 100,000 across the six countries with data available.

From 2012 to 2022, there has been an average of 25 female r**e victims per 100,000 women in Ireland per year – the sixth highest in Europe.

R**e Crisis Network Ireland estimates that only 14% of sexual assault cases are reported to An Garda.

There were 1,181 r**e offences recorded in Northern Ireland in 2023/24, more than double the amount that were recorded ten years earlier.

In 2022/23 in NI, 97 defendants were dealt with in the Crown Court for an offence of r**e; 27 defendants (27.8%) were convicted of an offence of r**e (NI PPS, 2023).

Pray for:
➡️ an end to the insidious r**e culture throughout the island of Ireland which will only be achieved through deep and sustained changes to our attitudes and behaviours and by upholding the dignity and worth of women and girls
➡️ reform of our legal systems which will be trauma-informed and survivor-focussed
➡️ support and justice for survivors.

If you need help and are based in ROI, you can contact the freephone 24-Hour National Helpline at 1800 77 8888, at any time of day or night.

If you need help and are based in NI, you can contact the free 24-Hour Helpline at 0808 802 1414.

09/12/2024

We give thanks for the legislation in ROI and NI as two years ago, it did not exist! However there remains much to be done to ensure vulnerable women can access free period products.

Pray also against period stigma and a world where we can talk about menstruation positively without shame or taboo.

06/12/2024

Unfortunately, disabled girls and women are a greater risk of experiencing any form of violence. The NUI Galway Sexual Experiences Survey 2020 (of higher education) found 40% of disabled female students reported experience of r**e (compared with 27% of non-disabled students).

Pray that policy and legislation would be inclusive of and responsive to the diverse needs and identities of disabled women and address structural inequalities using an intersectional approach.

05/12/2024

NI is not a safe place for girls and women as statistics demonstrate that they are disproportionately affected by violence and abuse.

Since 2020, 24 women have been violently killed, all but one, by men.


🌍💛

04/12/2024