Go Purple Day to raise awareness and funds for Mayo Women’s Support Service
Friday, April 23, is designated as Go Purple Day, a national day of fundraising and awareness for local domestic violence services, including Mayo Women’s Support Service.
The dedicated day was initiated by members of An Garda Síochána in County Meath some years ago.
It has now grown into a wider national day of awareness in partnership with Safe Ireland, the national agency working to create safety for women and children, and Men’s Aid.
Mayo Women’s Support Service is one of the 39 frontline service members of Safe Ireland across the country.
People, businesses and schools are being encouraged to wear purple, bake purple, grow purple, paint purple, whatever they like to show their support and fundraise for their local domestic violence service.
Given the times we are living through, it’s easy to Go Purple remotely with friends and family. To donate, all you have to do is go to https://gofund.me/edbcc56a.
All funds raised in County Mayo will go directly to your local service.
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a significant increase in the numbers looking for support from a domestic violence service.
According to Safe Ireland’s Tracking the Shadow Pandemic Reports, over 2,000 women and over 500 children, on average, received support from a domestic violence service each month from March to December 2020.
In that same time, over 57,000 helpline calls were answered nationally.
An Garda Síochána has prioritised support for survivors of domestic and sexual violence with Operation Faoiseamh throughout Covid-19 and Mayo Women’s Support Service has welcomed the force’s continued focus on this issue.
“For over a year now, we have all been working under enormous pressure to respond to those fleeing domestic abuse,” said Josephine McGourty, manager of Mayo Women’s Support Service
“In Ireland, and across the globe, incidences of domestic and sexual violence have risen significantly since the start of the pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns.
We are very clear that Covid-19 does not cause domestic and sexual violence, it has exposed it.
“But, this epidemic has also exposed an outpouring of communal empathy for those living with control and abuse in their homes that we have perhaps not seen before,” she continued.
“We hope that this Go Purple Day will give people another easy, fun way to continue to support our work in keeping women and children safe here in Mayo.”
For more information and for ideas on what you can do to Go Purple contact: Andrea Jordan, Mayo Women’s Support Service, at (094) 9025409 or (087) 6569672.