Domestic violence crisis - State inaction putting lives at risk
Professionals in the field say that problems have reached epidemic proportions, with as many as one-in- five Irish women suffering from some form of domestic violence. In landmark research last year, the National Crime Council calculated that 213,000 women had been severely abused. Many were reluctant to come forward because the legal system is stacked against them, and the Government and State agencies are providing little assistance.
Women who seek help are frequently ignored. There were 25,843 calls last year to the helpline set up by Women’s Aid. That represented only a fraction of the overall number of women suffering from domestic abuse, but some 10,000 of those calls, or almost 40%, went unanswered.
