Domestic violence: Ireland cannot keep treating coercive control as an afterthought

The Paul Moody case has renewed calls for Jennie’s Law and stronger protections for domestic abuse victims in Ireland

Former garda Paul Moody was returned to jail this week after sentencing for 'prolonged' and 'extreme' abuse of a woman. Here's the thing: He was already in jail for abusing another woman. File picture: Collins Courts 

This week, the former garda at the centre of one of the State’s first and most shocking cases of coercive control was returned to jail for the abuse of a second woman.

Paul Moody, aged 46, told the woman he hoped she would die in childbirth while pregnant with his child, writing: “I hope you bleed out and die you c***.”