The Western Health Board has produced leaflets aimed at helping women who have experienced violence in the home.
"Getting Your Life Back Together" and "Women and Children in Distress - Services in your Area" offer advice and contact numbers to women and children seeking help. The first leaf let outlines the counselling choices available to women suffering from physical, sexual, mental or verbal violence in the home, while the second lists useful contact numbers for victims in Galway, Mayo and Roscommon.
It lists numbers for law centres, local authority housing, Rape Crisis Centres and refuge centres and advises victims on what constitutes abuse and what to do. It also informs victims of their rights on income and housing and their legal options under the Domestic Violence Act 1996.
Launching the leaflets yesterday, the WHB chairwoman, Ms Beverly Cooper-Flynn, said the timing of the launch was appropriate, given the period November 25th to December 10th are the 16 days of action for victims of violence as part of a global campaign for women's human rights.