State ‘failing abuse victims’
Women’s Aid has accused the Government of failing to live up to numerous commitments to fund more safe places for abused women and children.
Two-out-of-five women were turned away from their refuges in Dublin last year - with one centre turning away up to 45 families a month.
Some 40% of calls to the Women’s Aid helpline could not be answered last year due to lack of resources.
Yesterday the campaign group decided to mark International Day Against Violence Against Women by having five ‘brides’ protest outside the Dáil with one holding a placard that read: “beaten, raped and hospitalised five times”.
Women’s Aid director Margaret Martin said that while many people would like to believe the issue had been dealt with, this was clearly not the case. The organisation estimates one-in-five women are abused in relationships.
“While the Women’s Aid helpline statistics show that marriage is still the most common context for domestic violence, it is by no means the only context. Many women experience domestic violence at the hands of co-habitees, boyfriends and exes,” she pointed out.
The Women’s Aid helpline received 19,901 calls last year, an increase of 5% on the previous year’s figures, and responded to 12,147.
In 2003, the gardaí dealt with 8,452 call-outs to domestic incidents.
Over the next two weeks, Women’s Aid will be emailing facts about the prevalence of domestic violence in Ireland and asking recipients to forward it on to as many people as possible.
