Irish Examiner View: Domestic abuse - Garda move provides reassurance

There is a concern is that many women who need help may be unable to reach out for support in this crisis because of living in constant close proximity to their abusers, a condition exacerbated by the requirement to socially isolate.

Confinement to the home represents frustration and boredom to most people but to some it also raises the risk of being subjected to either physical or mental abuse — or both.

In that respect, the proactive manner in which An Garda Síochána is offering to support victims of domestic abuse and coercive control is a welcome and timely initiative that sends a clear message to both victims and abusers.

It will bring reassurance to the hundreds of women and children at risk of such abuse and warn those responsible that even the threat of such behaviour will not be tolerated.

The fact of the matter remains that the majority of domestic abuse perpetrators are men and the majority of victims are women.

Welcoming the Garda initiative, Sharon O’Halloran, Co-CEO of Safe Ireland, the agency working with 38 domestic violence services nationwide, said some were seeing an increase in calls from women and children while others hadn’t.

The concern is that many women who need help may be unable to reach out for support in this crisis because of living in constant close proximity to their abusers, a condition exacerbated by the requirement to socially isolate.

Being trapped with an abuser is one of the unintended consequences of the coronavirus lockdown.

As Ms O’Halloran argues, the Garda operation “is telling women who are trapped and isolated with abusive partners that they are important and that their safety is a national priority.

"It is also sending a clear message to abusers that domestic abuse and coercive control is a serious crime at all times.”

That point was made just as forcefully in January, 2018 when Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan brought the landmark Domestic Violence Act into operation.

It, for the first time, recognised coercive control as a crime, acknowledging that it can, in many ways, be as harmful as physical abuse because it is an abuse of the unique trust associated with an intimate relationship.

An Garda Síochána is here to help and support anyone who is a victim of the crime of Domestic Abuse. To report Domestic Abuse contact your local Garda station or in an emergency call 999/112.https://t.co/knRUMGbIat

— Garda Info (@gardainfo) April 1, 2020

It also improved legal protections available to victims of domestic violence and brought Ireland a step closer to ratifying the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, known as the Istanbul Convention.

The commencement of the Act was a key part of the Second National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence 2016-2021.

As part of this strategy, a national awareness campaign was launched to bring about a change in attitudes to domestic violence and to encourage community activism to prevent it.

An act of the Oireachtas is only as good as the measures put in place to implement it.

The Garda’s Operation Faoisimh (respite) goes a long way but frontline gardaí must be made more aware of the fact that, under the Act, a District Court can make an emergency barring order where evidence by a victim is given by video link.

Community vigilance is also essential.

As Sharon O’Halloran so eloquently puts it: “Domestic abuse and coercive control is a crime that affects every community and it needs a community response to help police it and end it.”