Limerick-based child abuse charity appoints new CEO

CHILDREN at Risk Ireland (CARI) has announced the appointment of Emer O’Neill as its new Chief Executive Officer.

The charity supports children and families affected by child sexual abuse with services such as information, advocacy, therapy and a helpline.

Ms. O’Neill formerly held the role of Head of Therapy in the charity and has worked for over 17 years as a systemic family therapist.

“Sexual abuse affects children and teenagers from all walks of life every day of the year.  It is not just an historic issue, and we need to overcome our reluctance to discuss it, however difficult that may be,” stated Ms O’Neill following her appointment.

Ms O’Neill says she plans to continue to grow the charity and expand into more counties.

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Having recently established their Outreach Services for the south-east in Wexford, the main difficulty the charity faces is funding, with only one third covered by the state, and so they must fundraise the rest.

The charity depends largely on donations and fundraisers to offer their services.

“More funding is needed for services like ours which provide a safe space for children to work through their pain and to heal. No child abuse victim should have to travel more than an hour to access therapy services,” added Ms O’Neill. 

A major issue has surfaced over the last decade with children accessing online pornography and a rise in sexualised behaviour as a result.

“Children under 12 cannot process what they see, so they act it out, often with siblings or peers. Parents really struggle when dealing with this kind of behaviour, but if it is not tackled effectively, it can just generate further cycles of abuse,” highlighted Ms O’Neill.

If you have concerns about a child’s protection or sexualised behaviour, visit cari.ie or phone the charity helpline at 0818 924567.