Over 1,100 adults and children used domestic violence supports in one January day, report says

One service provider said it had to turn away 'a high number of women' after being contacted by phone or email. File picture

Some 850 adults and 324 children in Ireland accessed frontline domestic violence supports on a single day this year, according to Safe Ireland.

Its "One Day Census" report, carried out on January 28, examined the level of activity across 38 centres. It said that, unfortunately, 1,872 women had to be turned away from services in the past six months due to insufficient refuge capacity, a lack of safe accommodation, and staffing or resource constraints.

It said a significant number of survivors are living in emergency accommodation, refuge, unsafe housing arrangements, or with a perpetrator because of a lack of alternative accommodation options.

One service provider said it had to turn away “a high number of women” after being contacted by phone or email.

“This is most often due to the refuge being at full capacity, which prevents us from offering safety and accommodation to women who urgently need support. In addition, we are currently unable to meet the needs of women who are experiencing domestic violence while also being in active addiction, due to limited resources and capacity,” it said.

“For example, staff are not trained in the use of naloxone, we do not carry out overnight room checks, and we do not have a two-staff night shift pattern in place. These measures are important when supporting women fleeing domestic violence who are also managing active addiction, and the absence of these resources limits our ability to provide safe and appropriate support at this time,” it added.

Another service provider said the “lack of housing options” was the biggest challenge it faced.

“This means that there are very few move-on options available for women leaving refuge, and very few options for women who are still residing with the perpetrator,” it said.

"Additionally, we need increased resourcing to build the capacity of the supports we currently provide and to meet the complex and evolving needs of women, especially in the context of the housing crisis,” it added.

On the one day examined, Safe Ireland found: 

• 235 phone calls made to domestic violence services
• 66 people called about housing support. 
• 139 women and 93 children residing in refuge accommodation
• 10 out of 172 refuge units unavailable due to vacancies or ongoing repair works.

The report also found that more than half of survivors reported experiences of digital monitoring, harassment or online control by perpetrators, while 62% said they experienced financial or economic abuse.