15% of women and 6% of men ‘severely abused by partner’

Cormac O’Keeffe

It says this translates to 213,000 women and 88,000 men who have been seriously abused in a physical, sexual or emotional way by a partner.

When minor forms of domestic abuse are included, the figure for women rises to 29% and the figure for men jumps to 26%.

This would suggest 411,800 women and 381,300 men have suffered some form of domestic abuse.

The startling figures are contained in a report published yesterday by the National Crime Council (NCC) and the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).

"Data from the criminal justice system and service providers represent the 'tip of the iceberg'," said report co-author Dr Dorothy Watson.

She said only 22% of those severely abused reported the matter to gardaí including 29% of women and just 5% of men.

She said the main reasons, common to both genders, included a perceived lack of seriousness, a preference to handle the matter themselves and shame.

The report said judges should consider domestic abuse as an aggravating factor when sentencing.

Other results of a telephone survey of 3,000 adults showed:

Risk of abuse was higher where one partner controlled decisions about money and where parents were abusive.

38% of incidents had no specific trigger or were triggered by minor incidents.

34% of cases involved alcohol consumption.

About half of those abused were physically injured.

Women's injuries were more serious, including broken bones, blackouts and miscarriages, with more severe emotional damage.

Half of the incidents began in the first year of a relationship.

NCC chairman Padraic White highlighted four of the 35 recommendations in the report:

Review of gardaí policy and training to ensure all cases were handled with sensitivity and confidentiality.

Regional family law courts should be established, particularly outside Dublin where there are no such courts.

Setting up of a working group within the Department of Health to raise awareness among health professionals.

Consider establishing a refuge for men, on a pilot basis, in Dublin.

Junior Justice Minister Frank Fahey said the report would contribute to the National Steering Committee on Violence Against Women, the National Women's Strategy and the Men's Health Policy.

Amen, which works with male victims of domestic abuse, said despite the report's findings on the prevalence of domestic violence on men, it received only 1% of Department of Health funding on domestic abuse, with the rest going to women's groups.