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Brabha Borasi (front left), Mumdaz Ansari (front right) with colleagues at the Jan Sahas field office in Ujjain, which focuses on helping victims of sexual violence. TheJournal.ie

India's rape epidemic: The survivors speak

Each day in India, 92 women are raped. A group of rape survivors spoke to TheJournal.ie on a recent visit.

IN INDIA, 92 women are raped each day - or one every 15-20 minutes.

The majority of rape cases go unreported, however. Local community organisations in the country tell TheJournal.ie that this is down to a cultural demonisation of rape victims, kept in place with the connivance of the political class.

Last month, the country’s Minister for Women said India was fourth in the world for female safety – despite it being listed, in 2012, as the worst place in the world to be a woman.

Across the vast country, sexual violence against women takes place in cities and towns; in fields and in offices; in homes and on streets.

But it’s in rural India where the most flagrant abuse occurs – as Lakshmi* knows only too well.

Now 35, she was raped three years ago while working in the fields in a village near Dewas.

“I am a lower caste woman raped by an upper-caste man,” she tells TheJournal.ie during a recent visit.

He was a member of the ruling village council. Upper caste men feel arrogant that they will not be prosecuted and that they can do anything.

Her family, and the entire community, laid the blame for the heinous crime on Lakshmi herself.

“My family said that my behaviour was the reason I was raped,” she says.

I was so alienated after the incident. The whole village was on one side and I was on the other side. I was being blamed and shamed.

“I was traumatised. I thought the whole village wanted to kill me and my family. The police doctor did not conduct a serious medical check-up. Psychologically it was brutal.

In India people expect women to have purity of character. The same does not apply to men.

Unused to press attention from local media, she – like the rest of the rape survivors interviewed for this piece - is forthright and unemotional about her ordeal, and grateful that outsiders care enough to read her story.

Dalit

While life in India is hard for many, surely nothing compares to life as a Dalit woman at the mercy of upper castes – and particularly the men. Dalit, meaning “oppressed”, is the self-chosen political name of the Indian castes considered “Untouchable” by the four main Hindu varnas – or caste groups – of Indian society.

And it doesn’t get much harder than in rural Madhya Pradesh, a sprawling state known as the heart of India. It covers 308,245 square kilometres, bigger than the United Kingdom or Italy, and only just smaller than Vietnam or Malaysia.

The state is home to the Jan Sahas Social Development Society. Begun in 2000 an effort to fight the worst abuses of the caste system (including manual scavenging), Jan Sahas works in more than 4,000 villages

It also runs a programme for the survivors of rape in Ujjain, a small city of over half a million people.

The charity receives funding from a range of international sources, including the Karuna Trust - a charity based in London headed by an Irishman, Ciaran Maguire.

Jan Sahas has also received UN recognition. In 2014, it was presented by Bill Clinton with a Stars Foundation impact award.

Out of its small, spartan, colourful Ujjain office, Jan Sahas helps around 50 victims of sexual violence at any one time – 35 minors and 11 adults over 18 years  of age.

The youngest rape survivor the charity currently works with is seven years old. All told, it works with 46 service users raped in the last 12 months.

 

Lakshmi

I’m joined by two progamme co-ordinators, Mumtaz Ansari and Brabha Borasi and Sumit Chavan, their (male) Jan Sahas colleague, who doubles up as a translator.

Ansari and Borasi explain that they and their colleagues went to Lakshmi’s village on a fact-finding mission after seeing a small piece in a local newspaper about her ordeal, which, needless to say, was unspeakably horrific.

Lakhsmi suspected their fact-finding visit was a trap set by her rapist, but slowly agreed to receive advice on the case.

Lakshmi shakes her head in disbelief as she explains how, instead of arresting her rapist, the police in her village took a case against her husband for allegedly assaulting the perpetrator.

She says that, when she queried this, she and her family were chased out of the village by the police.

Perpetrator

“The village and my relatives abandoned me,” she says. “There is no work for me there any more.

And the perpetrator has raped other women. I would have been psychologically broken or physically dead were it not for the help I received here [at Jan Sahas].

According to Ansari, doctors regularly carry out substandard medical examinations in cases where Dalit or tribal women are raped by Brahmin or upper-caste men.

Helped by the Jan Sahas legal team, she extricated her husband from jail, and took a case in the lower court against the perpetrator, but lost due to the poor standard of medical procedure that took place after the ordeal. They are now appealing.

Jan Sahas has helped to train Lakshmi to return to the workforce, and arranged for her three daughters to be educated outside the village, due to local opposition to their education.

India and others 149 Sumit (left) and two colleagues with Jan Sahas showcase a mock courtroom they use to help service users prepare for the rigours of court cases. TheJournal.ie TheJournal.ie

Vulnerable

All three women – Lakshmi, Ansari and Borasi – say the problem of sexual violence towards wmoen in India has worsened in the last five years. It is now the most pressing problem in society.

In the last few years, more and more girls are heading out of their houses for schools and colleges and jobs, she says.

In Ansari’s experience, most rapes happen while the women are out doing work in the fields near upper caste households. There is also a huge problem in government offices, where she says sexual harassment is rife.

The key aim of Jan Sahas is to educate Dalit women on the importance of safety at work, Ansari adds.

“They are physically vulnerable there. And also, the more women go out to work and join workplaces, the more men seem to prey on them. There is no justice

It’s so dangerous for women, we can’t leave the houses.

As well as providing legal help, safe houses and retraining, Jan Sahas help to fund counselling.

“If we don’t give counselling to the men, the husbands, the brothers, the fathers, they start making notions about the woman’s character that affects their relationship for the next 10 years or 20 years,” Borasi adds.

“So these victims need counselling almost every week.”

India and others 155 Staff at the Jan Sahas field office in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, pose before a newspaper cutting showing Bill Clinton's recognition of the charity.

Domestic maid

Sakshi* has received counselling. A 30-year-old tribal woman from a village near Dewas, she tells the story of how she was disowned by her family after she was raped, then was raped again while cooking as a domestic maid in Ujjain.

In this case, the perpetrator was also an upper caste Hindu, she explains:

I was disowned from my family when I reported it to the police, and since the incident I have been living on my own with the help of Jan Sahas.

Jan Sahas have helped her take a legal case, which is still in process. Though it is a non-bailable offence (indictable, effectively) but the perpetrator has yet to be arrested.

Asked whether she can turn to her family, she shakes her head firmly.

Her family was furious once she began receiving help from Jan Sahas, a multi-denominational organisation that happens to be headed by a Muslim.

(Although it has its origins in the Hindu tradition, the caste system has infected all strands of society, with many Muslims and Sikhs considered ‘Untouchable’.)

Local politicians began threatening Sakshi, and she left with the help of Jan Sahas. I ask other survivors of rape whether political interference in their cases at a local level is common, and am met with a sea of nods.

They speak of offers of money from local politicians, and threats from the perpetrators.

“The police are on the side of the perpetrators,” Sakshi says.

I think the problem is increasing and even the police are not supporting the victims. They are on the side of the perpetrators. Local politicians will often pressure the victim.

In this case, Jan Sahas has applied to the state level of commission, human rights commission, and the police authorities.

Across castes

But not all victims of India’s endemic gender-based are Dalit or ‘out-castes’.

In January of this year, Riti* – from an upper caste – was raped by a 26-year-old Dalit boy at the age of 14, and then tricked into leaving her family in Mumbai on the promise of marriage. He managed to acquire false identity cards to enable her to marry.

“For six months she was away from her family and the police were being paid off by the perpetrator’s family,” Borasi adds.

“The police were very disrespectful towards her. Every time she would go to the police, the local police station, they would talk to her in a very humiliating manner.”

Eventually, the girl came to a child protection house run by Jan Sahas for recovery, but the police pressured her into giving a statement that she left with the boy of her own volition.

India Child Malnutrition India's Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi. Saurabh Das / PA Saurabh Das / PA / PA

There have been other cases involving upper caste women but they are very rare. The same cannot be true of the fate of girls aged under 18 from across the caste spectrum.

According to a 2013 Human Rights Watch report, over 7,000 minors are also raped each year in the country, while untold numbers are sold by their families to human traffickers.

Modi

For Indian NGOs, advocacy is complicated further by the ever-looming threat of losing their licence if they criticise the federal government.

The political reaction to Dalit movements has been mixed, ever legendary Dalit leader Bhimrao Ambedkar, an opponent of Gandhi’s caste-based politics, led mass conversions to Buddhism the 1950s, due to its promise of equality.

The slowly continuing conversions have led to the declassification of Buddhism and Jainism as separate religions in some states, where they have been conflated with the majority Hindu religion.

For the women at the raw end of India’s caste system, the problem is worsening.

“The environment for women has degraded,” Ansari said.

“Politicians are involved in threatening women at 2am, for goodness sake. They are threatening to decapitate them, and saying they are saying they will burn the house.”

The world is full of patriarchal societies, yet some are more patriarchal than others.

Jan Sahas receive funding from charities, including the Karuna Trust in London. Co-run by Irish aid workers, it funds a range of projects among India’s poorest.

*Some names have been changed.

Read: Spending a day in Delhi is the equivalent to smoking 40 cigarettes. We went to see for ourselves

Read: Two women in India have been gang-raped “for eating beef”

Read: Indian student gang raped second time by same men, say police

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25 Comments
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    Mute Jacks R. Back
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 12:08 AM

    We had co-living before. We called them tenements.

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    Mute Mary Nugent
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 1:39 AM

    @Jacks R. NAMA sold all of it off c/o ff/ g Noonan at the helm with Capt. Enda Kenny.

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    Mute Wreck Tangle
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 12:46 AM

    Co-living works well in other cities. I lived in about 40 Sq m when I first moved to Zurich. It was great. Small, in the city, very practical, nice neighbours who I shared certain spaces with but also and most importantly, it was affordable.

    Difference in Ireland is that developers are using this route not to create affordable housing for young, single people, they are trying to maximise their yield per Sq m. Terrible stuff.

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    Mute Karl Harvey
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 2:35 AM

    @Wreck Tangle: this is totally different as well, price aside. You lived in 40 square meters. The majority of these will be 16 square meters! Then some will be 18 square meters, and about 4 of them will be 24 square meters. Big difference between those numbers and what you lived in.

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    Mute Kevin Thompson
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 7:40 AM

    @Wreck Tangle: how much did you pay per month?

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    Mute Wreck Tangle
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 8:32 AM

    @Kevin Thompson:

    1,100 Swiss Francs (think it was about eur 1k at time). Net salary is around 3* Ireland and average rent in Zurich City for 80-100 Sq m is probably around chf 2.8k so it’s a completely fair deal.

    23
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    Mute Karl Harvey
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 12:17 AM

    More like “Price Gouging Leeches seek meeting with useless puppet over ‘not enough propaganda to make our expensive shoe boxes desirable’”

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    Mute windbag
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 12:36 AM

    Misinformed… I don’t think so.. I lived in one of these in Holland for awhile and it was a nightmare..

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    Mute Nigel Barlow
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 1:20 AM

    @windbag: in what way?

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    Mute Bleurgh
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 6:36 AM

    @windbag: lived in one in Holland too in my early 20s and I loved it, didn’t know anyone and was a great way to meet people and was cheap! It was perfect for a certain time in my life.

    41
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    Mute Frank Scanlon
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 12:14 AM

    Absolute disgrace if any of these ‘developments’ get the go-ahead. As regards the report commissioned by Bartra, leave it so

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    Mute Rochey77
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 10:38 AM

    @Frank Scanlon: theres already some completed and some under construction

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    Mute EillieEs
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 3:15 AM

    I wonder what percentage of applications currently under review is for these hostel-type accommodation? Between student apartments, hotels and these co-living developments it seems couples and families are being pushed out of the city; developers are being allowed shape the future of the city.

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    Mute Ciara Ní Mhurchú
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 9:59 AM

    @EillieEs: Single people are being pushed out too. No hardworking Dub wants to live in a pokey studio flat either.

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    Mute NotaWarder
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 10:13 AM

    @EillieEs: City probably not the best place to raise a family

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    Mute Sam Greene
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 11:26 AM

    @NotaWarder: yes it is. You get to spend more time with your kids, Instead of commuting for hours.

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    Mute Padraic O Sullivan
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 6:26 AM

    1. Teagasc recommends stable units of 18sqm for horses. These units are 16sqm.
    2. Covid has obviously put a dampner on the situation. Say there is a kitchen unit per 25/30 people. Good luck having breakfast/prepping your sandwich while social distancing.
    3. Under what laws are the renters protected. If I’m not mistaken, the PRTB aren’t gonna protect you, it’s a private contract between you and the owner.
    https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/co-living-residents-may-fall-outside-rental-protections-1.3990143

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    Mute Rochey77
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 10:39 AM

    @Padraic O Sullivan: i don’t know if you’ve ever seen horses though, they are pretty large

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    Mute Bob Murray
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 7:12 AM

    Irish developer looks for meeting with ff minister because he wants to alter reality….hmmmm….where have I heard this before?

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    Mute Adam Conroy
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 7:56 AM

    Pull the other one it’s got bells on. There’s one reason and one reason only that developers want this…it suits them fine to build overpriced boxes for people to live in, rather than proper apartments or houses.

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    Mute Podge
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 9:23 AM

    @Adam Conroy: they’ll increase the housing stock which will reduce the demand strain which will decrease the price in the long run. How many people could you house in traditional housing developments on that land? The more people we get out of traditional housing that don’t need to be there the more the traditional housing stock is available to families/young people looking to start a family.

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    Mute Sam Greene
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 11:28 AM

    @Podge: do t know many single people living in 2 or 3 bed houses? Do you? This is all about profit for the least amount of space.

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    Mute Podge
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 11:38 AM

    @Sam Greene: yes. And I was one of them for many years. Obviously they rent out a room and share with others. Very hard for a family to compete with 3 working single people for a 3 bed house.

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    Mute Gary Kearney
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 12:27 PM

    @Podge: A small box is not housing

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    Mute Podge
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 12:39 PM

    @Gary Kearney: So how big does a room have to be to be considered housing under whatever definition you’ve come up with in your own head?
    I live in a small apartment. I know many people who live in small apartments. I know people who share bedrooms with 2/3 people. It’s not the best form of housing but it’s all housing.

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    Mute Paul Mc
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 12:44 AM

    No brown envelopes were involved that’s a giving.

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    Mute RogersRabbit
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 3:22 AM

    The minister rushes to be lectured by these people.

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    Mute Ann Experiment
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 12:09 AM

    Mehole.

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    Mute George Vladisavljevic
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 8:22 AM

    As I have said in the past, make the out of Dublin TD’s stay in these accommodations while they are up thee instead of renting apartments and hotels and see how it goes. After all, what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

    It will also save the state money if they go out and buy a few rooms and share them among the TD’s and other public servants and staff.

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    Mute jgc
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 8:07 AM

    #coliving Looks like very expensive Direct Provision accommodation: so that the rising affulent can experience tennent style living in order to be prepared for the next pandemic

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    Mute Emer Caffrey
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 4:25 AM

    Looks ugly for starters

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    Mute Lydia McLoughlin
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 7:50 AM

    You just smell the BS when he blew smoke up the b’side of the Minister when he put in that paragraph about “… strong and stable government…’ The government are just a front, puppets for the perceived elite and not fit for purpose.

    64
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    Mute Eoin Ryan
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 10:38 AM

    They should be banned. Worst idea I’ve heard. We are going backwards here in Ireland.

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    Mute Podge
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 9:10 AM

    Many people talk about how we need houses not this type of accommodation. What people fail to realise is that getting people who don’t need to be in traditional houses into other types of accommodation frees up traditional housing.
    When I first moved to Dublin at 22 I would have happily moved into one of these as I didn’t know many people in the city. A few years on and I’m living with my girlfriend, we don’t need a house at the moment as it’s just the two of us. An apartment would be the most ideal (the standard is better than a lot of the houses converted into one beds).
    Instead I’ve lived in three different places in Dublin and all three were old houses that would have been perfect for families. The current house was converted into 5 different one bedroom/studio apartments.
    I don’t know how a couple with kids are supposed to compete with investors who can put 6+ working people in a house and charge them €700+ each.
    The more housing stock we have the more prices will come down.

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    Mute Sam Greene
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 11:31 AM

    @Podge: so basically they are student accomodation, under a different guise. We need more families in the city, not more single person acconodation. .

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    Mute Podge
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 11:45 AM

    @Sam Greene: Yes, so how can we get more families into the city? How about we build other types of accommodation so that people living in houses who don’t really care about living in a house can move? Dublin is full of houses where each bedroom is rented out to single people or couples. Like I said above I’ve lived in many and the current house I’m living in would make for a lovely family home except it was converted into a bunch of 1 bedroom/studio apartments.
    There’s not enough houses – build houses is such a one dimensional view.

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    Mute Cynical
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 1:05 PM

    For anyone using foreign examples of good co-living spaces, please realise business people in Ireland like to do everything a lot worse than the rest of Europe.

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    Mute John Mulligan
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 9:25 AM

    People should go and look at one, and then give their view.
    I was initially sceptical about these developments, and indeed they should be well scrutinised, but I looked at one in London in January and I was impressed.
    They aren’t designed to house families, they are somewhere between a hotel and an apartment, designed for single occupancy for shortish lets.
    A lot of people move to Dublin for one or two year contracts in the IT sector, and having this option means they aren’t occupying an apartment that might suit a family. These developments are targeted at a specific sector, same as student accommodation is targeted at students.
    Opposition to co-living developments makes a great rallying cry for certain groups, but they are either misinformed or deliberately ignoring the reality.

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    Mute Jose Maria
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    Sep 3rd 2020, 11:21 AM

    Dublin, one of the youngest cities in Europe and with no co-living places.

    I guess the people that don’t agree with that is because they prefer to live in bunk beds or in old houses.

    Student residences are nice for people until 24 and co-living places are nice for expats and people until their 30s.

    Is it that difficult to understand?

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    Mute vanc
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    Sep 6th 2020, 12:08 PM

    We need affordable housing full stop. Not everyone needs a 3 bed semi-detached or a 2bed appt. These units are smaller than a hotel room for 1.5-2k per month. You could actually long stay in in a b&b for that!

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