Groundbreaking radio programme 'Women Today' takes a look at the work of the newly-opened Rape Crisis Centre in 1979.
The groundbreaking radio programme 'Women Today' was just over two months on the air when it broadcast this piece on the Rape Crisis Centre, which was itself only six months old at the time. The Rape Crisis Centre opened in 1979 to support victims of sexual violence. RTÉ's 'Women Today' set out to explore all aspects of women's experience in Irish society.
In this clip, Marian Finucane interviews Mary Doran of the Rape Crisis Centre about the sort of people who contact the centre. Doran tells her it is very varied,
from the case of a woman, say, taking a lift home with a man after a dance, where the man didn't see it as rape, but she did.
They talk about the case of a young girl who had been attacked by a number of boys and whose parent had rung the centre. Parents have a number of concerns in situations like this, from the effect going to court will have on a child, to someone in the neighbourhood taking it out on the girl. They are very worried that
if the fella gets put away, that he'll always have it in for her, or some of his friends will try to get her again.
Women Today', initially presented by Marian Finucane and produced by Clare Duignan, was first broadcast on 31 May 1979. The show was proposed by Clare Duignan to redress the inadequate representation of women in RTÉ broadcasting. Dealing with women's issues, the show was immediately popular with listeners, which ensured it stayed in a prime slot until it ended in 1985.
This interview with Mary Doran was broadcast on 10 August 1979.
