THE invaluable service that Rape Crisis Midwest provides from its Ennis centre is to be given a promotional boost this month.

The county’s men are being urged to ‘walk a mile in her shoes’ to raise awareness of violence against women.

After receiving a grant from COSC, The National Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence, Rape Crisis Midwest have been able to purchase a number of new promotional items to highlight their centre at the Tracklands Business Park and its website, www.rapecrisis.ie.

To celebrate this, they are holding a promotional launch at Glór on Thursday, April 10 at 12.30pm.

A number of special guests will be saying a few words, along with representatives from Rape Crisis Midwest.  Supports and volunteers from the centre are also invited to attend and the general public is welcome to come along.

Rape Crisis Midwest opened its doors in Limerick in 1980 and has grown since then, opening an outreach centre in the Tracklands Business Park, Clonroad, Ennis a number of years ago.

The centre provides a wide range of free support services to all survivors of sexual violence, as well as offering free training and educational programmes to local schools, colleges and businesses.

The centre also welcomes interested parties to contact them about a free one-day training course taking place in Ennis on Wednesday, May 14. The course will cover societal myths surrounding rape and sexual abuse, pathways for referral and disclosure.

For more details, contact verena.tarpey@rapecrisis.ie or freephone us on 1800 311511.

Meanwhile, Rape Crisis Midwest are encouraging men to get involved in an event at the University of Limerick on Saturday, April 26. At the Pavilion in the UL campus, men are invited to walk a mile, in highheels, to raise awareness and much-needed funds for Rape Crisis Midwest. For more details, log on to www.rapecrisis.ie