Charity ‘inundated’ with domestic violence referrals

A charitable organisation which deals with the perpetrators of domestic violence has said it is “inundated” with referrals, including those from social workers.

MOVE Ireland (Men Overcoming Violence) operates from 10 locations around the country and the organisation is struggling to keep up with demand.

Coordinator of its Cork office, John Russell, said: “Our services in the last year or two in particular have been inundated with referrals.” He said many of the referrals were coming from social workers and that overall, “we are getting way more than we can cope with”.

Other regional agencies and the probation service operate similar programmes but Mr Russell said: “The amount of referrals we are getting at the moment is off the scale.”

Not everyone referred to the programme or seeking a place on it is guaranteed to gain entry, as they must undergo an assessment process to see if they are suitable.

The women affected by their behaviour are then offered support through a related organisation, while the men must prove they are “committed to change”.

While no specific figures were available, Mr Russell said there was a growing waiting list for the courses, which in the Cork office can accommodate between eight and 10 men at any time, with courses lasting up to 26 weeks.

Mr Russell said the surge in demand was not linked directly to the recession, but admitted that increased financial pressure within some families could be a contributing factor to violent behaviour.

However, he said in some cases the perpetrators of domestic violence did not consider what they were doing to be wrong and in many cases the issues were of anger and control.

“We are by no means a substitute for criminal sanctions,” he said, adding that “very, very few” clients on the programmes had appeared in court in relation to violence in the home.

Ineke Durville, spokesperson for the Irish Association of Social Workers, said domestic abuse was increasingly being cited in cases as abuse in the home and so would be coming to the attention of social workers.

Mr Russell also works for Cork YMCA and said there were concerns over how the proliferation of online pornography could be impacting upon young men’s attitudes towards women.

He said one possible method of addressing that was more education on gender issues in the classroom, in addition to the resourcing of programmes.

He added that services for women experiencing domestic violence were improving in some ways but could be applied in a “smarter” manner.