Surprising omission on domestic violence
She states that “more must be done to remove the stigma attached to reporting cases of domestic violence”.
The senator expresses concern about women under-reporting, but makes no mention of men failing to report domestic violence.
This omission by the senator is surprising in view of the crime council’s finding that it is men rather than women who are less likely to report domestic abuse.
The research reported that 95% of men who suffer domestic abuse in Ireland do not report it to the gardaí.
Services for male victims of domestic violence receive less than 1% of allocated Government funding.
It is difficult to reconcile this lack of financial support for men with the findings of the four domestic violence studies of both sexes carried out in Ireland in the last 10 years by ACCORD, MRCS, the Department of Health and the National Crime Council.
The overall conclusion that can be drawn from the combined results of these four studies is that men and women are equally likely to perpetrate and initiate domestic violence.
These findings are hardly surprising as they are precisely what Erin Pizzey, the founder of the international movement against domestic violence, has been saying for years.
Patrick McGinnity
Derrynoose
Keady
Co Armagh
