Healthy Relationship Forum Held In Offaly

Wednesday, 11 October 2023 15:22

Presentations to SATU of adolescents has risen by 37% between the years 2017 - 2022, including the midlands.

The Mullingar Sexual Assault Treatment Unit held a first of its kind Initiative with the Healthy Relationship Forum this week.

The event brought together all the relevant stakeholders to discuss consent and what healthy relationships look like for young adults and it will help to inform upcoming workshops taking place across secondary schools in Laois and Offaly.

Speaking at the event in the Esker Arts Centre in Tullamore, Nessa Gill, SATU Mullingar said, "The forum is an opportunity to help start ending the stigma of sexual assault and rape among young adults. One in five people we help in SATU are between the ages of 14 and 18. The workshops in the schools will empower and support young people to engage in healthy safe relationships."

Gardai, teachers, social workers, youth and community workers and other state agencies got together to discuss safeguarding young adults.

Niamh Dowler, Children and Young People's Services Committee Co-Ordinator for Laois/Offaly said, "We decided to have this event in the Esker Arts Centre as we want to bring conversations about consent to an open forum and empower all who attend about healthy relationships and the wraparound supports for sexual assaults. We discussed what healthy and unhealthy relationships look like, negotiating consent, signposting to SATU services and Sexual health services in an open forum. The goal of this is to help protect our younger generations but also start reassuring them that, the data shows, if something does happen to them, they can recover and live full lives."

Presentations to SATU of adolescents has risen by 37% between the years 2017 - 2022, including the midlands. The newly designed series of five workshops for senior cycle students within secondary schools has been welcomed by many in Laois and Offaly.

However, it's a tentative first step, "this is a collaborative of Gardai DPSU, Offaly Domestic Violence Support Service, Tullamore Rape Crisis Centre, Laois Domestic Abuse Service, Tusla and HSE Sexual Health Service Portlaoise along with the Laois Offaly CYPSC, we're aiming to secure funding for a healthy relationship worker who would liaise with all our schools in the midlands and act as a middle person between our young people, relationships, sexual education and services", said Ms Gill.