Pictured from left: Breda Bell, Cuan Saor Service Manager; Verona Nugent, Co-ordinator of the One Million Stars Project; Kathleen Maher, Co-ordinator of Ascend Domestic Abuse Project.

'One Million Stars' in Tipperary

Sixteen days of activism on violence against women

Cuan Saor and Ascend Domestic Abuse Service are marking the 16 days of Activism on Violence Against Women by launching a joint all-county awareness-raising initiative, ‘One Million Stars Project’.

The 16 days of Activism on Violence Against Women is a Global Campaign opposing violence against women and runs from November 25 (which is UN Day Opposing Violence Against Women) to December 10 (which is Human Rights Day).

In Ireland, domestic violence services across the country actively support the campaign. The aims of the campaign are: To highlight the prevalence of violence against women; To raise awareness of violence against women as a human rights issue at local, national and international level; To show the solidarity of women around the world opposing violence against women; To work towards the elimination of all forms of violence against women; To keep violence against women on the political and media agenda.

THE ONE MILLION STAR STORY

The One Million Stars to End Violence Project was established by Maryann Talia Pau, a Samoan-Australian artist, in response to the rape and murder of an Irish woman in Melbourne, Australia. In Samoan culture, the star is a symbol of light, hope and solidarity. The project used star weaving to rebuild trust within the community. In 2020 Siobhan McQuillan, working with Amber Women’s Refuge, brought the project to Kilkenny. Since then, it has been extended to many counties and in 2021 both Ascend and Cuan Saor felt it was a project that would raise awareness of both services in Co Tipperary, ensuring that women who are experiencing domestic violence are fully aware that there is help within their community.

Kathleen Maher in Ascend and Verona Nugent in Cuan Saor have been busy over the past few months distributing packs to groups and schools in preparation for the launch of the project to coincide with the 16 days of activism campaign on November 25.

Geraldine Mullane, Project Leader of Cuan Saor, said that “secondary schools across the county have embraced the project with great energy and are coming up with creative ideas on how to display the stars on March 8 2022 (International Women’s Day)”. Kathleen Maher in Ascend said: “Both organisations have enlisted support from a number of different agencies across the county such as Healthy Ireland and SICAP (Social Inclusion Community Activation Programme), which is part of the North Tipperary Development Company, NTDC.)” Verona Nugent said: “The project has connected the community through art while raising domestic abuse awareness and using the power of weaving and art to build community resilience and hope for a safer future for all”.

Cuan Saor is a well-established 24-hour domestic violence service based in Clonmel and providing a range of supports including refuge accommodation across Tipperary to women and children who have or are experiencing domestic violence. If you wish to contact them, you can do so through their 24-hour freephone helpline at 1800576757.

Ascend is a domestic violence support service based in North Tipperary as part of North Tipperary Development Company (NTDC). Ascend provides a comprehensive support and advocacy service in North Tipperary. If you wish to contact them, you can do so by phoning their helpline at 0505-23999 (Monday – Friday, 9am-5pm).