Pregnancy no shield from attack in home

On just one day alone last year, 22 pregnant women looked for safety from violence.

They were among 537 women and 311 children who were accommodated or received support from a domestic violence service on Nov 6, 2012. There were 21 women who could not be accommodated in a refuge because there was not enough room.

SAFE Ireland, which compiled the census, said the number of pregnant women seeking refuge on the day was “particularly alarming”.

It said the finding showed domestic violence was a daily threat for women of all ages and all life-stages.

International research has found that one-in-four women who experience domestic violence are abused for the first time when they become pregnant.

“Sadly, pregnancy offers no protection from domestic violence,” said SAFE Ireland chief executive Sharon O’Halloran.

“Our services regularly work with women who are beaten and raped during pregnancy, sometimes resulting in miscarriage. One woman told us how she was beaten so badly that her baby was born with two black eyes. And still we, as a country, and a society, don’t take this seriously.”

The census, the fifth to be undertaken by SAFE Ireland, also shows that 40 women accessing domestic violence services on the day were over the age of 56, with 14 over the age of 65.

Most of the women — 346, were aged between 26 and 45. Also looking for support were 65 women aged between 16 and 25. On the day, 117 and 152 children were accommodated in a refuge.

Ms O’Halloran said the State and society must recognise that domestic violence was a life-threatening crime. She said too often the State’s response to women in critical areas like justice, housing or health was “nothing short of appalling”. “This is not just couples ‘having a domestic’, this is a crime... This is deadly serious,” she said.

SAFE Ireland is the national organisation for frontline domestic violence services and the figures were collated by 37 of 39 domestic violence services across the country.

There are also services for men experiencing domestic abuse.

*www.safeireland.ie