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LAST UPDATE | 18 Mar
ST PATRICK’S DAY is a day to celebrate Irish culture and the positive impact of Irish people and society on the world.
In Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, we have the privilege of supporting some of the most courageous people in this country, who despite overwhelming barriers come forward to seek healing and – sometimes — justice. Time and again, we hear them say they want to encourage fellow survivors to seek support, and to stop others from being harmed as they were.
Over many decades, thousands of survivors and their supporters have sacrificed so much in order to make progress for those coming after them. The events over the last week have shown how easily that hard-won progress can be eroded.
The White House St Patrick’s Day event was a disturbing and dystopian development and must be called out as such. It can only be seen as an attempt to rehabilitate someone who has shown no remorse for sexual assault and has sought to discredit his victim, Nikita Hand – a woman of immense courage and conviction.
When the civil trial against Conor McGregor concluded last November, we were inundated by queries from people asking how they could support Nikita. We said that the public needs to stand up, speak up and show up for survivors of sexual violence. That’s what we are witnessing amongst the Irish public now.
There is a widespread feeling of disbelief that the esteemed Office of President of the United States could be used as we saw yesterday. We are watching live as sexual violence is being normalised on a global stage and wrongdoers absolved by their access to power.
We in Dublin Rape Crisis Centre see first-hand the impact of these events on others who have experienced sexual violence. The 24-hour National Rape Crisis Helpline began receiving calls on Monday from people deeply distressed by the images and reports coming from Washington.
It was therefore so welcome and heartening to see the huge response from people all over Ireland expressing their disgust and rejecting the message that this man somehow spoke for them or represented them on our National Holiday.
This is the Ireland we want to celebrate – a country that honours survivors, that encourages them to seek healing, that supports them to find justice. A place where our leaders and our national institutions stand in the victims’ corner.
We welcome comments from the Taoiseach and Tánaiste that the views expressed by Conor McGregor do not represent the view of the Irish people. We agree wholeheartedly with that.
It may be tempting to dismiss the events in the White House as just showboating and hot air, but that is to miss the seriousness of what’s happened – this is not business-as-usual, and now is the time to call it out, to be an ally to survivors and to resist attempts to normalise sexual violence.
This is why I have written to the Embassy of the United States today, outlining how deeply troubled Dublin Rape Crisis Centre is by recent events. I have noted that the meeting in the White House is just one example since President Donald Trump took office of how he has put energy into restoring the status and laundering the reputations of powerful men accused of different forms of sexual violence and assault. In doing so, he is sending a message that sexual violence can be trivialised and that the road to redemption leads straight to the Oval Office.
Thus, it is encouraging to see how swiftly the Irish public has rallied around survivors of sexual violence. There is palpable resistance to and outrage at what has happened. But this is just the start: we all will need to maintain this resistance. We are at an inflexion point where efforts are being made to rewrite the wrongs of predators. That cannot be allowed to happen, and we hope the Irish public will stand with survivors of sexual violence and the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre to ensure it will not.
We have been particularly gratified by the strong and vocal support from men. It can be easy to stand on the sidelines of an issue when you don’t feel it affects you or to punch downwards and degrade those you deem less powerful, but it takes real strength to stand up for those who need it. We have been really cheered to see the level of active resistance — this is true allyship.
So, we have a message of hope for anyone out there who has been hurt or affected by these developments: You are not alone.
We stand with you. Thousands of people in Ireland stand with you. Other survivors stand with you. Rape crisis centres and other support groups stand with you. Your government stands with you.
Support is here – we will listen, and we will believe you.
For those who want to show solidarity with victims and survivors, there are so many things you can do…
Challenge negative attitudes toward victims and survivors of sexual violence in their friend and family groups.
Be an ally for anyone who has experienced sexual violence.
Stand up, speak up and show up for survivors – let’s give this community a reason to be proud of us like we are of them.
Rachel Morrogh is Chief Executive of Dublin Rape Crisis Centre. Free, confidential & non-judgmental support is on the 24-hour National Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800 77 8888.
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