Domestic violence lines get five calls per hour

Almost five calls for help were answered every hour on one day last year by domestic violence services.

On the same day — Tuesday, November 5, 2013 — 16 women and 24 children were admitted to one of a number of refuge facilities. However, on the day, a further 16 women could not be admitted to a refuge facility owing to a lack of space.

The Just One Day census shows that, over a 24-hour period, more than 700 people — 467 women and 229 children — were supported by domestic violence services. Over the period, 109 helpline calls were received from women.

The census was undertaken by Safe Ireland, the national network of domestic violence services in Ireland and revealed that on the day, a total of 115 women and 155 children were accommodated in a refuge facility.

Safe Ireland chief executive Sharon O’Halloran said the day was a quiet one for most of the 37 domestic violence services that participated in the census.

Ms O’Halloran said the 700 people helped by domestic violence services on November 5 were homeless or at risk of homelessness because their homes were not safe places to be.

“Victims of domestic violence are not explicitly recognised in Irish housing legislation or provision, as they are in other jurisdictions,” she said.

“We are calling on the Government to amend and develop housing legislation and to expand the definition of homelessness to include victims of domestic violence so that they can be catered for quickly.”

The number of women accommodated in a refuge has risen 29% since 2009, with little or no expansion to existing units and in a period when HSE core funding to domestic violence services has been cut 14%.

“The network of services is operating on nearly €2m less in state funding. We are aware of economic constraints and are asking for funding to be ring-fenced and maintained at current levels,” said Ms O’Halloran.

Safe Ireland stressed that the census figure for the woman and children who sought support was only the tip of the iceberg.

A recent EU-wide survey found that seven out of 10 Irish women did not contact any support organisation after experiencing a very serious violent incident.

Ms O’Halloran said there were many unmet requests for accommodation in 2012, when 3,470 requests were refused because the refuge was full. That meant that almost 10 times every day over the year, a woman who was almost certainly with children, had to be refused.

Safe Ireland has called on the Government to set up a high-level cabinet sub-committee to address the prevalence, complexity and poor response to all forms for violence against women in Ireland.

“While individual political representatives have raised the issue in the Oireachtas, and while it has been examined by the Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Equality and Law Reform, violence against women has never been given the concerted political attention it requires,” said Ms O’Halloran.