Domestic violence - Women in firing line

THE victims of domestic violence are nearly always but not exclusively women. Often an out-of-control addiction or exceptional stress are at the root of this terrible and frightening behaviour.

The money worries and concerns about job security so common today can spark unacceptable behaviour too. Though not confined to any social demographic domestic violence, as a new Trinity College report shows, was experienced at one time or another by most women who are in jail.

The report found that of 60 women surveyed most had spent more than a decade without a home and that others were caught in a cycle of homelessness or prison.

The report confirms again that poverty destroys lives that might be saved by education and opportunity.