RapeCrisis Midwest

04/09/2026

Today is

Sexual health includes what happens after sexual violence, and in the Midwest, the care available after an assault is not equal to the rest of Ireland.

Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Mullingar and Waterford all have a 24/7 Sexual Assault Treatment Unit. The Midwest has never had one.

Today, we're launching a campaign to change that.

Over the coming weeks, we'll share what that gap actually means: the waiting, the travel, and the choices survivors in the Midwest are forced to make that survivors elsewhere are not.

This isn't something survivors, or this charity, can fix alone. The HSE and the Department of Health need to fund and deliver a 24/7 SATU for the Midwest, and local TDs and Senators need to push for it.

Help us get the message across by writing a letter to your local TD or Councillor.

https://r**ecrisis.ie/service/forensic-medical-examination-fme-support/

03/09/2026

A r**e victim in Co Clare had to travel to Galway for their forensic exam. Not because Galway was closer, but because the Midwest still doesn't have a 24/7 Sexual Assault Treatment Unit.

Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Mullingar and Waterford all have one. The Midwest never has.

In Limerick, the service available outside limited hours means survivors are told the choice is report now and travel, or wait.

We're calling on the HSE and the Department of Health to fund and deliver a 24/7 SATU for the Midwest, and on local TDs and Senators to push for it.

Read the full article to hear more from our executive director, Siobhán O'Leary, on why the HSE and the Department of Health should fund and deliver a 24/7 SATU for the Midwest.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41890531.html

22/08/2026

Another successful kayak event finished 😊 Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone for such a wonderful day today 🧡
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A great day on the beautiful River Shannon expertly guided by the folks Limerick Kayaking Academy 🚣🚣‍♀️
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Followed by delish burgers by JP Clarke's Bunratty 🍔 and coffee by Hook & Ladder ☕
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Thank you to all the paddlers and supporters, we will see you all next year 🧡
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Watch out for photos of the event over the coming days from Nancy Geary & Shane Vaughan 📸

21/08/2026

Registration is now closed for our annual kayak event. Thank you so much to everyone that signed up 🧡
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Please check your emails for all of the important information on the event. We will once again have over 100 paddlers taking part in the event tomorrow 🚣🚣‍♀️🚣🚣‍♀️
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Remember to keep fundraising and sharing your fundraising page, all proceeds go directly to R**e Crisis Midwest services 🧡
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See you all tomorrow 👋

19/08/2026

Thanks so much to all the amazing participants that have signed up for our 11th annual kayak fundraiser. If you cannot make the event but want to support our kayakers, follow the link below and donate to one of the participant pages. Or donate directly to R**e Crisis Midwest - here https://buy.stripe.com/00g4j463D3Sb2SQ00D

See you all Saturday 🚣‍♀️🧡🚣

R**e Crisis Midwest has been supporting survivors of sexual violence in the Midwest since 1980. Over the past 11 years, since 2015, R**e Crisis Midwest have been delivering this event in association w

04/08/2026

Follow the link in our bio or below if you are interested in taking part in this research. Have your voice heard and listened to.

https://www.ul.ie/artsoc/ccjvs/current-projects/lived-realities

Have you experience of a sexual violence trial process since 1st January 2019? If so the folks at the Center for Crime, Justice & Victim Studies University of Limerick are conducting a study into these experiences.
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The research project is entitled ‘Lived Realities: Victim-Survivors’ Experiences of Irish Sexual Offence Trials’. A full overview of the project is available in the research webpage ( linked in RCM bio on Instagram) This project seeks the views of victim-survivors about their lived experiences of the trial process. Informed by the participants’ views, proposals for further law and policy reforms will then be designed which directly respond to the concerns raised by the research participants.
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Follow the link in our bio if you are interested.
# SexualViolenceResearch

27/07/2026

It is so great to see lots of sign ups for our kayak event in August, thank you all so much for supporting R**e Crisis Midwest 🧡

Once you sign up, you will get an email with your own person fundraising page - please share this among your own network so we can get as many people as possible to support the event 🚣‍♀️🛶🚣

Your donations to R**e Crisis Midwest go directly to supporting service for survivors of sexual violence in the Midwest. Thank you for supporting local services, thank you for supporting survivors 🧡

So remember, share your fundraising page and if you want to sign up for the event, scan the QR code below or follow the link in our bio 😊

**eCrisisMidwest

14/07/2026

R**e Crisis Midwest opened a new counselling center in Nenagh, Co Tipperary on July 8th. The center is now a base for RCM North Tipperary based counselling services and is based in the center of Nenagh town on Sarsfield Street.

Members of the public, Tipperary County Council, the Dáil and colleagues from across the Domestic, Sexual & Geneder Based Violence sector attended the opening. The center has taken the name Misneach House, Misneach being the Gaeilge name for courage, which is a testament to the survivors that access RCM services.

In opening remarks, Executive Director of R**e Crisis Midwest (RCM), Siobhán O’Leary, thanked the JP McManus ProAm Fund for their generous donation to fund the purchase of Misneach House.
The event also highlighted access barriers to appropriate sexual violence services in the Midwest, where there is no specialised Sexual Assault & Treatment Unit (SATU) for people to attend that have been recently r**ed or assaulted, in these cases people are required to travel to Cork or Dublin.

While there is a Forensic Medical Exam (FME) Service in Limerick, this is an out-of-hour service and requires a report to be made to Gardaí in order to access it. Siobhán O Leary said "we remain in a situation where the people of North Tipperary and the wider Midwest do not have access to specialised SATU service.

This remains a significant and unjust barrier in place for survivors and is something I will continue to highlight into the future. I am now calling on the government to review this situation with a view to establishing a SATU service in the Midwest." Please go to R**e Crisis Midwest website for further information on the SATU Midwest campaign or email info@r**ecrisis.ie.

The opening of Misneach House represents a further growth of services for RCM, who are responding to new referrals and requests for support every day. Siobhán O Leary added "my hope is that with a stable and consistent base here in North Tipperary, RCM can now continue to highlight the barriers and challenges that persist for survivors of sexual violence and continue to campaign for appropriate and holistic services in North Tipperary and across the wider Midwest."

29/06/2026

Have you experience of a sexual violence trial process since 1st January 2019? If so the folks at the Center for Crime, Justice & Victim Studies University of Limerick are conducting a study into these experiences.
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The research project is entitled ‘Lived Realities: Victim-Survivors’ Experiences of Irish Sexual Offence Trials’. A full overview of the project is available in the research webpage ( linked in RCM bio on Instagram) This project seeks the views of victim-survivors about their lived experiences of the trial process. Informed by the participants’ views, proposals for further law and policy reforms will then be designed which directly respond to the concerns raised by the research participants.
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Follow the link in our bio if you are interested.
# SexualViolenceResearch

04/06/2026

Thank you for your interest in the upcoming Consent workshops by .
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The workshops will be delivered here at R**e Crisis Midwest Limerick on the following dates - Friday 17th and Monday 27th July - 10am - 4pm each day.
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There are very limited spaces available in each of the workshops. If you are interested in attending please follow the link - https://forms.gle/1oXXYDr9D6WEkv6m6 - and pick which date you would like to attend.
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Thank you.

R**e Crisis Midwest in partnership with Consent Matters Ireland are delivering consent workshops. The workshops are open to any person that may be interested in learning more about consent and boundaries. Please see below for more information about R**e Crisis Midwest and Consent Matters. R**e Crisi...