60% of women killed lose life in own homes; Survivors call for women and children to be put first

A leading advocacy group and those directly impacted by domestic violence have demanded increased supports for families bereaved due to domestic homicide and suggested the issue of unseen coercive control perpetrated by hidden abusers is an underlying problem in society.

The call were made as a new report revealed that nine in ten women who have been killed in Ireland over the past 23 years have died at the hands of a man they knew.

That was one of many stark statistics contained in the Femicide Watch 2019 report launched by Women’s Aid this morning in Dublin.

Five women have died violently thus far in Ireland in 2019, while last year Women’s Aid dealt with 17,000 disclosures of abuse by women.

More than 60% of women killed in Ireland lose their lives in their own homes, a place that should be a “sanctuary” according to Women’s Aid chief executive Sarah Benson.

The latest report reveals that 230 women have been killed, and 16 children have died alongside their mothers, since Women’s Aid began keeping such records in 1996.

More than half of women killed in Ireland in that time died at the hands of a former boyfriend, husband, or partner.

Ms Benson earmarked the fact that no political representative of any party was present at the launch, which included contributions from abuse victims Kathleen Chada and Ryan Hart, saying that it was indicative, perhaps, that election season was in full swing. Nevertheless, she called on those present to make the stark facts of the report known on the doorsteps in the coming months.

Women’s Aid called on the Government to introduce, properly resource and legislate for formal domestic homicide reviews (DHRs) and to increase supports for families bereaved due to domestic homicide.

The organisation said that until such reviews are put in place Ireland will be failing to put in place the best strategies for protecting high risk victims of domestic violence.

Mr Hart, whose mother Claire and sister Charlotte were murdered by his father in 2016, told the Irish Examiner that, while the homicide figures released are stark, the issue of unseen coercive control perpetrated by hidden abusers is the underlying problem.

He described how his father was described in positive terms in media reports in the aftermath, in raising the issue of problematic media reporting of domestic abuse.

In the aftermath of the killings, he said, the only thing was discussed was male mental health, with no mentions for domestic abuse or domestic abuse charities.

“Our society considers men’s feelings as more important than the lives of women and children,” he said.

The intimation is that it’s still possible to be a good man despite killing your family, Mr Hart said.

He said his father’s suicide note was highlighted in reporting, as opposed to the “murder note” it had represented for his mother and sister.

Mr Hart said the devastating impact of such narratives were uncovered by police in the aftermath of the murders, when it was discovered that his father had been searching for online reports of other men who had killed their families.

He added that despite the prolonged psychological abuse perpetrated by his father within the home, he had always been “exceptionally friendly” to everyone outside the home, often discussing how important protecting his family was to him.