Ms Sandra Peake:

I thank the Chair and the members of the committee for the opportunity to make a presentation on the WAVE Trauma Centre today.

The centre was established in 1991, which was late when one considers the levels of violence inflicted throughout the preceding years. It was created in response to ongoing deaths in north Belfast. From a nucleus of eight women, all of whom had lost partners, Widows Against Violence Empowered was formed with a constitution to only work with innocent victims bereaved through sectarian violence. In 1993, a woman whose husband was murdered by a paramilitary organisation for alleged informing was struggling with this information and the impact of the death on her young children. The women in WAVE identified it was wrong to view her as to be guilty by association. She and her children were grieving and it was felt we needed to widen our constitution to include everyone bereaved, regardless of religion, political opinion, cultural views or circumstances.

Later, WAVE’s remit was widened to include those injured or traumatised as a result of the Troubles. This was an important development because while an official list exists of those who died, there is no list of those severely injured. The needs of the injured in many government reports have often been overlooked. We now see many injured people coming forward for the first time seeking help. Today, WAVE is an organisation which works in five dedicated outreach centres in Belfast, Armagh, Omagh, Ballymoney and Derry-Londonderry. We have 12 satellite projects, as well as providing services in other areas as required like in Dublin and London if families in these cities approach us for local-based services. Every year we serve on average 2,100 people who access support services.

Last year we received over 550 new referrals which is on par for the past five years. The cases or individuals who have approached us have been affected by incidents spanning the period from 1969 onwards and cover bereavement, injury and trauma. Many of the people had never tapped into support services before. WAVE's remit is wide because it responds to the needs of adults, young people and children.

Trauma education programmes are another important aspect of WAVE's work. We found that there was a lack of specific trauma education programmes and responded by developing a three-strand approach. We provide introductory accredited programmes that are delivered across the community. We provide a BSc. honours course in psychological trauma that is run in conjunction with Queen's University, the only such course available in Ireland. We also provide a professional development programme in order that all nurses and social workers, and from next year it will be open to all teachers, have received specific training in regard to victims and survivors and can lead in training, citizenship and how services can better respond to the needs that are presented. That is an important development. The programme is assisted and was initiated with EU funding.

WAVE's core principles are as follows: The empowerment of people who have been bereaved, injured or traumatised which is evident in our work; inclusivity by providing support in response to need; continuous improvement by the provision of high quality and innovative services; a commitment to both shaping and responding to changes; and accountability. More principles include equality and good relations and non-violence by ensuring that the violence should never happen again. It is important that people are continually reminded of same and the latter is demonstrated in the types of referrals and people who approach WAVE.

The Troubles had an unequal impact on society. In some areas the levels of death and injury were very high but other areas were relatively untouched. We disagree with the statement that everybody was touched by the Troubles. It is true that individuals were affected by road blocks and bomb scares. The real price of the Troubles is evident by the shattered lives that were created through death and injury.

WAVE sees four sections in today's society. They are as follows: the people who suffered a direct impact and bore the brunt of the violence; the people who were indirectly impacted; the people who dealt with the ramifications such as NGOs and lawyers; and the people who were not impacted, want to draw a line under costly inquiries and wish to relegate the impact of the Troubles to the past. It is the latter group who has little awareness of the impact that the Troubles had on people's lives. They are unaware that peace, within the limitations that we now enjoy, has come on the backs of those whose lives were irrevocably changed through bereavement or injury.

It is important to mention that our society is not devoid of the ongoing impact of paramilitaries because threats continue and there are instances of knee-capping and expulsion. We call for an urgent review of the mechanisms that deal with the issues. People have approached WAVE claiming that they have been threatened. Threat verification and assistance must be worked on and a very clear mechanism must be established, as a matter of urgency.

A culture of silence still exists. Recognition and acknowledgement is key to addressing the silence. In many ways recognition and acknowledgement have left the table. They should be returned and delivered in a number of ways and we have made such a case to Dr. R. Haass and Dr. M. O'Sullivan.

At present there is an emphasis on medicalising what happened. A new victims and survivors service has been created but unfortunately it does not examine the wider issue. It seeks to medicalise and provide treatment and care, as opposed to examining the context in which incident happened and how people are presenting. Also, memoralisation and remembrance must be sensitively and carefully considered in terms of the impact of wider events that occurred over the past number of months.

WAVE believes that all individuals have a right to information. I shall hand over to my colleague, Ms McCallan, to make her presentation on that issue.