Calls to Women’s Aid rise following Emma Murphy’s viral video
And traffic to the agency’s website more than doubled the same day, as victims of domestic violence sought information about what they could do.
The video posted by Ms Murphy on her Facebook page went viral last week and, by yesterday, had recorded over 9m views.
In the video message, Ms Murphy, a mother of two, said she needed to do it for her and her children and that she wanted to raise awareness.
Linda Smith, manager of Women’s Aid national freephone helpline, said there was a spike in calls and in website activity as a result.
“The helpline received a 48% increase in calls along with our website which also experienced a 240% increase in traffic on the day the video went viral,” said Ms Smith.
“We know that when women speak about their own experience and share their story, it helps other women to open up and it lifts the secrecy and shame which often surround domestic violence.”
She said helpline staff understood that it was a “huge step” for women to make the call. She said the scale of the problem was reflected in domestic violence figures in the Courts Service 2014 annual report, published on Monday.
It showed a 2% increase on domestic violence applications in 2014, to 13,528.
There has been a 36% rise in applications since 2010, thought to be largely due to changes in the law in 2011, which expanded eligibility for orders.
“The increase in volume of applications under the Domestic Violence Act is no surprise to Women’s Aid and it is an indication of how vital legal protection is for victims of abuse,” said Ms Smith.
She said Women’s Aid had often expressed concern at this, particularly in relation to Dolphin House family court in Dublin. She said there was currently a 14-week waiting time between applying for a safety or barring order and securing a court hearing: “These waiting times can leave women and children in vulnerable and dangerous situations.”
She expressed concern that Government plans to consolidate domestic violence laws and enact international conventions “will not be prioritised” given the limited term remaining before the next election.
She said that “as a matter of urgency” stalking legislation had to be updated, saying the current laws do not work for domestic violence cases.
Women’s Aid is also calling for a 24/7 on-call system for those seeking emergency barring orders. And she said protection needed to be extended to young women who are dating, but not living with, their boyfriend.
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