‘Ireland needs data on prevalence and impact of domestic violence and abuse’

Overlapping vulnerabilities and risk factors for women who die by DVA-related suicide present challenges for how ‘domestic violence’ is identified and recorded in coronial records, according to the study. Picture: iStock

The harms experienced by victims and survivors of domestic violence and abuse (DVA) will “continue to go under-recognised” without comprehensive national data on the prevalence and impact of such behaviours, according to a new study.

The study looked at 873 suicides among women from 2015 to the end of 2020 which were recorded in the Irish Probable Suicide Deaths Study. Of those, 15 cases were identified as having domestic violence and abuse as a factor, accounting for just under 2% of cases.

The research found that “overlapping vulnerabilities and risk factors for women who die by DVA-related suicide present challenges for how ‘domestic violence’ is identified and recorded in coronial records.”

The study noted that Ireland currently does not have a decided domestic violence death review mechanism linked to the coronial system. It also said: “Improved and more systematic data sources are needed to establish the prevalence and impact of DVA in Ireland.”

It added: “Ireland lacks comprehensive national data on the full spectrum of DVA behaviours. Without this, the harms experienced by victims and survivors will continue to go under-recognised.”

The study was undertaken by Gemma Cox from the HSE’s National Office of Suicide Prevention; Elizabeth Cook and Sarah Dangar from City St George’s University of London, and Katerina Kavalidou from the National Suicide Research Foundation in Cork.

The cases examined by the researchers ranged from 23-69 years old, with the majority living in an urban or town setting. The research found that the number of suicide deaths among the cohort examined increased in 2020.

“In the previous years, they accounted for 0.3% of deaths per year, increasing to 0.9% in 2020,” the study said. It added: “Considered alongside patterns of isolation, service disruption, and increased personal strain, this may reflect the impact of Covid-19 restrictions.”

The study said “domestic violence and interpersonal conflict were central” to all 15 cases. 

“All of the women had documented evidence of DVA in their coroner files, with some cases also including explicit references to physical and/or sexual abuse. Conflict with current or former partners was also noted in several cases, often occurring in the weeks leading up to death.

“In some instances, this conflict included evidence of escalating disputes with (ex) partners, and/or broader relationship difficulties within the family.”

In highlighting that the level of cases identified as being related to domestic violence and abuse was “relatively low”, the study said that “women in this study frequently experienced multiple co-occurring adversities, including mental ill health, physical health issue, substance misuse, and social isolation which may obscure the role of DVA.”