Domestic violence - Rise in cries for help is alarming

THE dramatic increase in the number of women seeking help for domestic violence is alarming.

It is the human face of Ireland’s financial crisis.

While an upsurge of this heinous crime was a predictable result of Ireland’s deepest recession, nonetheless when relationships between husband and wife or between partners break down and end in violence, it is always heartrending.

Reflecting the stress and tension of the many families now facing mounting financial difficulties in parts of Dublin, the 2010 report of the Sonas Housing charity is a grim snapshot of life at the coalface of Ireland’s growing social problems.

Recording a “massive increase” both in enquiries and in the take-up of domestic violence services, the number of women supported by the voluntary service last year was almost treble the 2009 figure, a scenario undoubtedly replicated up and down the country.

In contrast with the fortunes of reckless bankers, who got golden handshakes after ruining financial institutions and bringing the economy to its knees, thousands of families mired in mortgage arrears are struggling to make ends meet and put food on the table.

So overwhelmed was Sonas by the clamour for aid, it could respond to only two out of every five cries for help. If anything, that bleak situation is likely to get worse as the Government’s austerity programme bites.

As a direct result of domestic violence, Sonas received 433 enquiries for crisis refuge or supported housing. Tragically, it could cater for only 40% of those calls and had to turn 249 people away because its services were stretched to the limit.

The figures show that, after helping 70 women and 88 children in 2009, Sonas supported 184 women and 234 children last year, the busiest period in its 14 years of existence. Jointly funded by the HSE and Fingal County Council, Sonas provides housing for women and children forced to leave home by domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence, including sex trafficking.

In a heartbreaking sign of the times, 66% of the women helped last year had mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, and considered suicide as a way out of their difficulties.

Painting a harrowing picture of the plight facing many Irish women today, Sonas chief executive Sharon Cosgrove says “the majority who call us are in dire abusive situations. Picking up the phone to a domestic violence service can be a massive step so it’s crushing if they do not receive a positive response.”

Never has there been greater need for quality services for victims of domestic violence.