Chris O’Reilly sent this message for the launch of the website.

 

The underlying drive for Laurie’s passion and commitment for social justice and in particular the rights and needs of children, was his belief that an investment in children is the single greatest investment society can make.

 

Laurie maintained that in many areas - legal, health, counselling - that the approaches taken were too often dominated by what was best for adults. He often said that the needs and welfare of children are paramount and must be treated so.

 

A critical feature of the WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF I TELL? Programme is that it addresses barriers to the identification of problems. Laurie always focused on the identification and solving of problems and not wasting negative energy on the allocation of blame.

 

Solving the problem and breaking the cycle also means support for abusers and those who have been abused. Again, for this to occur, the problem must be identified which is at the heart of this programme.

 

This innovative programme also helps those who have the courage to be involved in the process and the ramifications when allegations are made.

 

Laurie always maintained that the abuse of children was far more wide ranging than people thought, had far more of an impact than most people realized, was a lifetime cross for many people to bear and resulted in an increase in the propensity for the process to be repeated.

 

Any project that assists in removing the barriers to identifying how large and serious the problem is will help achieve that the issue gets the necessary attention, support and focus to improve the situation for our children—the greatest investment of all…

 

CHRIS O’REILLY

July 2000.       

“What Will Happen If I Tell?” is dedicated to Laurie O’Reilly who, as Commissioner For Children, showed a commitment to his job that served as an inspiration to us all.

 

Laurie and the Office of the Commissioner of Children supported WWHIIT? At it’s inception and assisted with initial fund raising.

 

The programme was launched by Laurie’s son, Chris O’Reilly, and Roger McClay, Commissioner For Children, on 12th July 2000.