8th international EFJCA Conference | 30 November & 1 December 2026 | Portlaoise (Ireland)
Bio Michelle Walsh
Dr Michelle Walsh is the Chief Executive Officer of MOVE Ireland, a national organisation specialising in intervention programmes for people who use violence and abuse in intimate relationships. As Chief Executive, she provides strategic and operational leadership across organisational governance, service development, quality assurance, risk management, policy compliance and engagement with government departments, statutory agencies, funders and specialist sector partners.
Dr Walsh has more than 15 years of professional experience across domestic and sexual violence, trauma-informed practice, counselling and psychotherapy, clinical supervision, professional education, research, policy development and organisational leadership. Her work has consistently focused on strengthening responses to violence against women, improving the quality and accessibility of specialist services, supporting victim safety and promoting effective systems of perpetrator accountability.
Before becoming Chief Executive Officer of MOVE Ireland, Dr Walsh worked with Rape Crisis Midwest as Training Manager, Psychotherapist and Clinical Supervisor. In this capacity, she provided specialist therapeutic support to survivors of sexual violence, delivered clinical supervision to practitioners, and led the development and evaluation of training programmes for professionals working across specialist and generalist services. She also contributed to inter-agency practice, policy development, professional standards and service improvement.
Dr Walsh previously served as Clinical Project Lead with Rape Crisis Network Ireland, where she led a national research and evaluation project examining counselling provision for survivors of sexual violence. Her responsibilities included research design, stakeholder engagement, project implementation, analysis, reporting and the development of recommendations to inform service improvement and strategic development.
Her academic and research work encompasses sexual violence, sexual harassment, trauma, victim support, service accessibility and the quality and effectiveness of specialist interventions. She was the lead researcher for A Safer Space: Counselling Survivors of Sexual Violence Online, a national mixed-methods evaluation involving survivors and professionals. Her doctoral research, An Exploration of Sexual Harassment Amongst Adolescents: Experience and Understanding, examined adolescents' experiences and understanding of sexual harassment and subsequently contributed evidence used to inform national curriculum development in Ireland.
Dr Walsh has contributed to national advisory and implementation structures across the justice, health, education, and child and family sectors. Her experience includes participation in Department of Justice implementation processes and membership of the Tusla Consent Education Advisory Committee. She has contributed to the development of policy, professional training, service standards and evidence-informed practice across specialist and statutory settings.
At European level, Dr Walsh serves as a Board Member of the European Network for the Work with Perpetrators of Domestic Violence. Through this role, she contributes expertise in perpetrator accountability, victim safety, intervention programme standards and the implementation of Article 16 of the Istanbul Convention.
Dr Walsh was elected as Ireland's member of GREVIO in 2026. She brings to the Group extensive experience in organisational leadership, specialist service provision, research, professional education, policy development and coordinated responses to violence against women and domestic violence. Her work is informed by a strong commitment to human rights, victim safety, professional accountability and the development of effective, evidence-informed responses to gender-based violence.
