Cork dip set to help raise vital funds for domestic violence charity

More than 2,400 people are set to take part in a Cold Swim organised by Women’s Aid, a leading national frontline domestic violence organisation.

Their second annual fundraiser will be held on Saturday, and events and gatherings will take place in multiple locations across the country with one motivation in mind – to raise much needed funds for the domestic violence charity.

Sarah Benson, CEO of Women’s Aid, said: “We are blown away by the thousands of people who have signed up to take the cold plunge in support of Women’s Aid to mark Nollaig na mBan.

“The harm of domestic violence is real and wide-ranging - one in four women in Ireland experiences abuse by a current or former partner,” she revealed, adding that every five minutes, a woman reaches out to Women’s Aid for support.

Ms Benson continued: “Every woman has the right to be safe, both in their own homes and in their communities, but this is not often the case.

“Every day, our support workers on the 24-hour National Freephone Helpline and our face-to-face services hear from women reporting assaults with weapons; constant surveillance and monitoring; relentless put-downs and humiliations; the taking and sharing of intimate images online, complete control over all family finances; sexual assault, rape, and being threatened with theirs or their children’s lives.

“The impacts on these women were chilling and ranged from exhaustion, isolation, and hopelessness, to being brutalised and wounded, suffering miscarriages, poverty, feeling a loss of identity and suicide ideation, hypervigilance; and homelessness.”

Laura Hennessy, from Cork, will be swimming in Garryvoe Beach, and explained her motivation to get involved.

“It’s just something that’s not really talked about very often, and it’s something people don’t like talking about, especially if it’s been going on for a long time, so it’s important to get a bit of a conversation going.

“It shouldn’t take for someone to have to die for us to have to talk about it, there’s instances happening to someone you know all the time.”