First of its kind Healthy Relationships Forum in Tullamore

Over 100 workers from education, social care, social services, DSGBV services, community, youth and the Gardaí came together in Tullamore for a first of its kind Healthy Relationships Forum recently.

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

Speaking at the event, 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.”

The forum brought together Gardai, teachers, social workers, youth and community workers and other state agencies who have an interest in the area of 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, according to Ms Gill. “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.”

In these ever-challenging times for youths, the forum was a good opportunity for adults who support our young people to join in conversation and gain support, knowledge and assurance from specialised services and learn about the series of workshops for Senior Cycle Students that have been developed by local services for schools.

The project centres on informing young people on taking care of their sexual health, the wraparound support provided by a Sexual Assault Treatment Unit, the law relating to consent and negotiating consent , sexual violence and knowing the difference between a healthy and unhealthy relationship. This project sets out to reduce the stigma linked to accessing services, provide clear signposting and referral pathways to services while empowering young people to make more informed decisions when it comes to relationships

Five workshops have been developed for Senior Cycle students that will support the themes of the SPHE curriculum. At the end of the workshops participants will understand what consent is and how to negotiate it, will be informed about the law related to sexual consent, be aware of the different forms of sexual violence, have reference points for what healthy and unhealthy relationships look like, be aware of the services provided by Rape Crisis Centres and Domestic Violence services and how to access them, and to be aware of the services provided by the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit and how to access the services.