Online training course launched in response to rise in domestic violence

Prof Stephanie Holt, the head of TCD's School of Social Work & Social Policy, says the impetus for the online course comes from Covid-19, the increase in domestic violence, and the national conversation about the issue. Picture: Paul Sharp

A new fully online training course for child protection and welfare practitioners is to launch in the coming weeks in direct response to the rise in domestic violence cases over the course of the pandemic.

The organisers of the course — Stephanie Holt, Associate Professor and Head of School at the School of Social Work & Social Policy in Trinity College Dublin, and Sonya Bruen of legal firm Mason, Hayes & Curran — said there had already been more than 100 expressions of interest in attending, including from social workers, public health nurses, and gardaí.