OSS Cork is a one-stop-shop that provides help to people experiencing domestic abuse.
According to Deborah, the manager of the centre, it provides all the help that someone might require in one place instead of having victims running from one place to another, “if a person is in need of information they can come and get almost all the information they need in here because often when people are living in that situation they are very distressed. They can feel quite hopeless and helpless and if they go to an organization and are told they need to go
somewhere else, they can get quite disheartened and might just give up.”

OSS Cork provides information such as directing people to legal aid if they need legal representation: “if they’re coming here looking for legal information we try and give as much information as we can, but we’re not actually solicitors. If they need to go to court we can accompany them, but if they need a legal representation we will refer them appropriately to legal aid.”

Accompanying someone to court or advising them on proceedings may sometimes be required as it can often be a stressful and traumatising experience: “We can advise them on what to expect in court, what the different orders mean, what they can apply for, rather than wasting their time going over there and gather that information themselves. If they actually do want to go ahead, they’re nervous about going to court, so we can go with them. It’s a closed court, not a public session, so we will not be allowed in court, but we will be waiting with them in the waiting room, which can be hard for the victims as they are waiting in the same room as the abusers.”

One hard part of the job it seems is that people suffering domestic abuse change their minds within the legal process, for fear of being left alone with no money, or simply feeling a sense of guilt towards the abuser; the abuser is not necessarily a husband, it can be a wife, or a child. The abuser can also change the mind of the victim in the lapse of time between the day the application for an order is made or on the day of the court hearing: “sometimes during those two months the partner might be very nice or promise to change, so the person might decide not to show up in court and just let it go. We offer people support and make regular appointments and they can come here and voice their concerns.”

The financial issue is also an important part of the problem as the victim is usually dependant on the abuser: “They might be looking for housing information, or finance advice because that s a huge impediment for people, if they are financially dependant on their partner.”

Deborah would like to remind people that abuse is not simply restricted to physical acts, it can also be sexual, financial, or psychological; some abusers constantly undermine their victim’s confidence to a point where he/she will believe the abuser and will not seek help anymore. Deborah also stresses that domestic violence is illegal in Ireland and the law does not only protect Irish citizens, it protects any person living in the country. Deborah points out that she is welcoming more and more foreigners to the centre and that everything is made to provide help for them and make sure they get all the information they need and all the legal help they are entitled to. Despite what an abuser might tell them, the law protects any and all residents of Ireland in exactly the same way.

94 South Main Street, Cork. Free phone 1800 497 497