Domestic violence services say they are very concerned about the latest lockdown of the country.
It comes as a new report shows at least 2,018 women and 550 children received support from a domestic violence service each month from September to December last year.
November was the busiest month of the four-month period, according to Safe Ireland s second Tracking the Shadow Pandemic – Lockdown 2 report.
When Ireland was at the height of its second level five lockdown, over 2,180 women and 602 children received support from a dedicated domestic violence service.
While more than 2,445 new women and 486 new children contacted a domestic violence service for the very first time in these four months.
Welcoming the continuation of automatic access to rent supplement for the victims of domestic violence, confirmed today by Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys TD, Fine Gael Senator Barry Ward has also called for the provision of a domestic violence shelter in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.
14 min read While family lawyers report a rise in divorce applications, some people say their relationships have never been better
At the start of the pandemic, Catherine separated from her husband after nearly 20 years of marriage in the midlands.
âIn March, I was talking to my counsellor in my car on the phone because I didnât want [my husband] listening in. I was crying and I said: âI donât know if I can do this,â and she said: âOf course you can but do you want to stay?â and it was like a veil was lifted because I suddenly realised I absolutely did not want to stay.â
The Labour senator says any downplaying of the seriousness of sexual assaults in the courts will cause the further regression of social attitudes towards these crimes.
Turning point in how Ireland treats domestic abusers
The landmark conviction of coercive control is vital in tackling domestic abuse, write Liz Dunphy and Brion Hoban
Chief Superintendent Finbarr Murphy pictured speaking outside The Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin this morning. Picture: Collins Courts
Sat, 23 Jan, 2021 - 11:30
Liz Dunphy and Brion Hoban The landmark conviction of coercive control is vital in tackling domestic abuse, write Liz Dunphy and Brion Hoban
The first person to be convicted of coercive control by a jury in Ireland was sentenced to 10-and-a-half years in prison this week.
The landmark case, tried under domestic abuse laws introduced in January 2019 which created the crime of coercive control, marks a turning point in how Ireland treats domestic abusers and their victims.