Gardaí get 120 domestic abuse calls every day

The Garda Annual Report said 22,795 contacts and attempted contacts were made by gardaí with victims of domestic abuse during 2020.

Gardaí received almost 120 domestic violence calls every day, on average, in 2020 — totalling 43,500 calls over the full year.

The deluge of calls marks a 17% increase on 2019, according to the Garda Annual Report for 2020.

Gardaí secured 7,600 charges last year for domestic abuse-related crimes, a 24% jump on 2019.

“An Garda Síochána knew that restrictions on movement [caused by Covid-19] would, unfortunately, lead to an increase in domestic abuse," said Garda Commissioner Drew Harris.

“To combat this, in April 2020, we introduced a dedicated operation that saw a significant level of contacts made with victims of domestic abuse and prosecutions against perpetrators.” 

This included the launch of Operation Faoiseamh by the Garda National Protective Services Bureau.

The annual report said 22,795 contacts and attempted contacts were made by gardaí with victims of domestic abuse during 2020.

“Operation Faoiseamh and the ongoing work of the Garda Protective Services Bureau saw over 7,000 criminal charges for crimes involving an element of domestic abuse in 2020," said Commissioner Harris.

That commitment to prevent and detect domestic abuse has continued in 2021.” 

Separate figures in the report show that almost 33,000 domestic abuse crime incidents were recorded by gardaí last year, up 15% on 2019.

The number has risen consistently, from just over 18,000 in 2016.

The report said these crimes are considered “potentially underreported” and that the increase is considered a “desirable correction” in reporting levels.

Sarah Benson of Women’s Aid said the figures were “shocking, but not surprising” and said their contacts rose by 43% in the same time.

'Tip of the iceberg'

She said the reported figures are “only the tip of the iceberg” and said easing of restrictions had not led to a drop off in demand and that face-to-face services were seeing “an increase in demand”.

Kathrina Bentley of Men’s Aid Ireland said she suspected the Garda figures do not reflect the number of male victims of domestic violence as reporting to gardaí was “not on their radar”.

She said calls to their centre were “heading towards 8,000” this year, compared to 5,500 in 2020.

She said they were working with gardaí to raise awareness and give male victims the confidence to report.

• Women's Aid 1800 341 900; Men's Aid Ireland 01-5543811