Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am sorry I was not present. None of the paperwork will be of any use unless it is seen to be having an effect on the ground. Some months ago I was asked by Trócaire to host a meeting when one of its workers from the Congo was in Ireland. This Congolese lady told us what was happening in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the DRC. We had the statistic that a woman is raped every 48 seconds. Ms Dearbhla Glynn showed us a clip from the film she had been making in the DRC, which won an award at the Irish Council for Civil Liberties a couple of weeks ago. The success of any policy in my view is when we see changes on the ground. Some of us have met another NGO who shared the concept of the jasmine tent, which is a safe space for women. They are looking for support from various countries for this concept and they hope to discuss it with Irish Aid. If people would agree to creating a safe space in war zones or conflict zones it would enable women to access whatever services they need, be it medical, psychological or social.