Some women in domestic abuse project had also been ‘abused by their mothers’

Some women accessing a pilot project for domestic abuse victims were abused by their own mothers.

Stephanie Holt, assistant professor at the School of social work and social policy at Trinity College Dublin, said she had recently completed an evaluation of the Sonas Safe Home pilot project and there was an “unknown population” of women who were living with their mother, who was abusing them psychologically or in other ways.

Ms Holt is one of the speakers at a major conference on domestic abuse being held in Limerick today.

Sonas is the largest provider of frontline services to women and children experiencing domestic abuse in the greater Dublin region.

The Safe Home project is a support service for women and children in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown local authority area who have had to leave home due to domestic violence.

Some of the referrals come from the local authority and those on the scheme stay in an apartment — essentially a stepdown facility — for two to 12 weeks, allowing them to adopt normal family routines before moving on to other accommodation.

“They had a number of women who came through Safe Home for whom their own mother was the abuser”, said Ms Holt, adding that in some cases the victim did not see themselves as a victim of domestic abuse.

The organiser of the conference, Adapt Domestic Abuse Services, is one of the largest refuges in the country and offers a 24-hour helpline, outreach support in Limerick city and county, and support groups for women and children who experience abuse.

The conference will include presentations by ombudsman for children Niall Muldoon; chairwoman of the Child and Family Agency, Norah Gibbons; and Marguerite Clancy of the HSE’s national safeguarding office.

The opening speech, which will be delivered by journalist and broadcaster Betty Purcell, will highlight the funding difficulties faced by organisations providing support services to people who have suffered domestic violence.

Referring to Adapt, Ms Purcell said: “The funding for Adapt has decreased year on year since 2008. It did not decrease in 2015, but because it had decreased overall by 20% from 2008 this left a significant shortfall for the organisation.

“This puts huge pressure on organisations to fundraise to meet the shortfall, energy that would be better applied to helping women in need of support.

“While it has been stated that there should be no decrease in the overall budget in 2016 this does not address the existing shortfall, nor does it guarantee that each organisation will get the same amount in 2016 as in 2015.

“It’s a constant worry for organisations who already exist on a shoestring, and provide many necessary services on a voluntary or semi-voluntary basis.”

Another speaker, Gary Broderick, director of the SAOL Project, will highlight the difficulties faced by women suffering domestic abuse who also have addiction issues.