Domestic abuse - Violence not just women’s problem

Violence against women assumes different invidious forms and is endemic in society, not just in Ireland but throughout the world.

It can, and does, manifest itself in the guise of poor wages or lack of opportunity in the workplace, to the tragic extremes of physical and sexual abuse.

Graphically, domestic violence is the most prevalent crime perpetrated against women and in latter years most of the women murdered in Ireland were killed in their own homes.

According to the Council of Europe, domestic violence is the major cause of death and disability for women aged 16 to 44, and accounts for more death and ill-health than cancer or traffic accidents.

Human rights body Amnesty International has described it as a 'cancer' in every society, affecting at least one-in-three women globally.

To highlight this societal malignancy, Amnesty launched the Stop Violence Against Women campaign yesterday, in advance of International Women's Day, which has been designated for next Monday.

In Ireland, studies have found that about 20% of women are affected by some form of domestic violence at some point in their lives.

The figures for the level of violence against women are grim and behind them lie shattered lives and, very often, shattered families.

Of 10,248 incidents of violence in the home reported to the gardaí in 2002, 91% of offenders were male and 92% of the complainants were female.

Obviously, men can, and are, on the receiving end of the violence but to a significantly lesser degree.

Women's Aid helpline receive 11,000 calls every year, while rape crisis centres are also inundated with pleas for help from victims.

That there are some counties with no women's refuges or shelters is indicative of how much remains to be done to provide adequate support services to victims.

Amnesty International is concerned as society as a whole should be that groups in this country which provide crisis and support services to women experiencing violence in the family, report that those services are overwhelmed by demand.

Throughout the world women are being subjected to intolerable violence and although it is condemned the societal will to prevent it happening can be gauged by the inadequate resources and facilities provided to respond to such an insidious malaise.

Colm O Cuanacháin, general secretary of the Irish Section of Amnesty International, insists violence against women is not normal, legal or acceptable and should never be tolerated or justified. It can and must be stopped.

But that cannot be achieved by considering it to be just a women's issue, because it is not. It is a problem that needs a broader approach in seeking a resolution than it is afforded.

That objective cannot be achieved while the various agencies engaged in combating domestic violence, and other forms of violence against women, operate in a largely disparate fashion.

It is essential that there be an effective level of co-ordination between agencies such as the gardaí, health boards, social services and local authorities.

That must happen to more successfully come to grips with a 'cancer' that has persisted for far too long.