Cork judge bemoans 'women battering women' cases

Due to a conflict of evidence and no witnesses in court to corroborate the women’s accounts of the violence, Judge Roberts said it would be unsafe to convict in the case

Midleton District Court heard the comments from a Cork judge recently. File picture

Women have been perpetrators in the majority of assault cases a Cork judge has seen in his court recently.

Judge Colm Roberts made the comments after throwing out a case in which two female neighbours were involved in a brawl after one called the other a “tramp” or a “slut” and allegedly threated to “smash” her neighbour’s “brains in”.

“Most assaults I’m dealing with now are assaults of women. The last number of assaults were of women battering women,” Judge Roberts told Midleton District Court.

Helen Hastings, 36, was charged with assault after a violent incident outside her home at 78 Russell Heights, Cobh, Co Cork, in October 2022. Midleton District Court heard that Ms Hastings and her neighbour, Natasha O’Hanlon, had a history of bad blood.

Ms O’Hanlon said that she heard her neighbour allegedly calling her “the slut next door” when she was outside trying to help a relative of Ms Hastings’ who had walked up her driveway.

Ms Hastings disputed her use of this word and said she had instead called her a “tramp”. Judge Roberts questioned why these misogynistic words were still used about women.

“Have you ever called a man a ‘tramp?” Judge Roberts asked. “It’s a totally sexist term.” When Ms O’Hanlon heard the slight against her she became angry and questioned Ms Hastings about why she had insulted her.

“Then she said ‘I’m going to smash your brains in,” Ms O’Hanlon said. “I said ‘come on so’”.

Ms Hastings then allegedly hit Ms Ms O’Hanlon with a mop and grabbed her by the hair, pulling out clumps. Photos of bald patches on Ms O’Hanlon’s head following the fight were shown in court.

“She had a stick — the handle of a brush — she hit me wallop into the left ear. My hair was in a bun and she locked onto my bun.

“She dug her fingers into my bun and dragged me forward so I was stuck, she digged me three times into my left ear. I grabbed her by the top — the top was ripped and I scratched at her.” 

Ms Hasting’s brother and another neighbour tried to break up the fight and the women were separated.

“My ear was stinging, my cheekbone was swollen, clumps of hair were pulled out.” Ms Hasting’s solicitor Don Ryan said that his client had been left with scratches on her chest, a mark on her arm and a red blotch on her cheek bone.

Ms Hastings alleged that Ms O’Halloran had hit her first and she only retaliated in self defence throwing “three to four digs”.

Photos

Looking at the photos of the two women taken after the fight, Judge Roberts said: “There was only one winner in this fight." 

"You’re a bigger frame, if you were boxers you would not be in the same class,” he said to Ms Hastings.

Due to a conflict of evidence and no witnesses in court to corroborate the women’s accounts of the violence, Judge Roberts said it would be unsafe to convict.

“The complainant did suffer injury as a consequence of Ms Hastings. I don’t know who started it but I’m satisfied that Ms Hastings finished it.” He warned the women to stay out of each other’s way.