About Us

Our Vision

GRCC’s vision is of a just and equal society where everyone has the right to live free from sexual violence and abuse.

Our Mission

GRCC is dedicated to providing a professional, caring and confidential counselling and support service for those in our community affected by sexual abuse and sexual violence.

We also work towards ending cultural and societal tolerance of sexual violence through advocacy, awareness raising and education programmes.

History

The Galway Rape Crisis Centre was founded in 1984 by a group of women in the Galway community who were concerned about the lack of services for survivors of sexual abuse and rape. The response to sexual violence and abuse arose largely out of the feminist movement in the eighties, where women got together in groups and many disclosed their traumatic experiences.

Therefore, initially, services were provided for female survivors only. However, counsellors at the centre soon became aware that there was a need for services for males. In response, the centre initiated the training of a group of volunteers and the founding of a male exclusive service, MASC, the Male Abuse Survivors Centre, which was operational for seven years but ultimately had to close because of lack of funding.

In 2006, Galway Rape Crisis Centre incorporated the services of MASC at our own premises, and we now sees male clients and employs male staff.
For fifteen years Galway Rape Crisis Centre was the only organisation in Galway providing such support services. Initially all services were run on a voluntary basis, until, in the late eighties, grants were secured from the Health Board funding a certain amount of paid hours.

Since then the Centre has grown to become (after Dublin) the second largest Rape Crisis Centre in the counrty. Currently employs 12 part-time staff, and also has 10 volunteer counsellors as well as numerous fund-raising and support volunteers.

Structure

Starting in the late nineties, GRCC has undergone a process of organisational change. The centre moved from the original collective structure to operating under direction of a Board of Management in order to comply with the Revenues regulations regarding transparency.

Affiliations

GRCC is an active member of the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland (RCNI) and we abide by the Network's code of ethics and practice. The Network supports and promotes the work of Rape Crisis Centres and provides a national voice for survivors of sexual violence.

GRCC is also an active member of the Regional Planning Committee working on the Taskforce on Violence Against Women. Here the centre works on a regional level, along with other non-governmental organisations and statutory agencies, to improve services in the area of violence against women.