FERMANAGH Women’s Aid has called on local politicians and authorities to commit to ending domestic violence as non-profit organisations in the North are “struggling to meet the demand”.
There has been a change at the helm of Fermanagh Women’s Aid, with Kerrie Flood appointed as the new interim Chief Executive Office (CEO) of the Enniskillen-based organisation.
With Sinn Féin’s Pat Cullen elected as the new MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, the Enniskillen group is calling on politicians to do their bit to end the ever-worsening domestic violence crisis.
“Since the last General Election in 2019, we’ve seen levels of reported domestic abuse and other forms of gender-based violence increase,” said a Fermanagh Women’s Aid spokesperson.
“Specialist support services like [Fermanagh] Women’s Aid are struggling to meet the demand. All victims of abuse need support.
“We need commitment from politicians to ensure violence against women and girls is never accepted or acceptable,” they added.
Although the PSNI reports a decrease in domestic violence cases, there was still a 32,763 reported domestic abuse incidents across the North in the year up until March 31.
The new CEO of Fermanagh Women’s Aid, Kerrie Flood, told the Herald that they remain committed to raising awareness about domestic violence in the local community.
“It is very clear by the strength of our community support, that Fermanagh will not tolerate domestic and sexual violence. In the next 12 months, I hope to harness that support whenever possible,” said Ms Flood.
“Each woman in our team is deeply committed to the work, to making things better, to keeping women and children safer.
“Our ethos runs through each person and my job really is about navigating the internal and external environment to enable them to continue to save lives.
“I want to create an environment in which our team feel empowered and supported so they can empower women and children to know that it is possible to live a life free from domestic violence,” she added
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