AS I SEE IT
BY MARIANNE HERON
Every hour, six people – generally women – will suffer domestic abuse in Ireland. The figure is shocking, even more so given that violence or abuse of intimate partners in the home is going up every year. So far this year, the Gardaí have received 1,000 notifications of domestic violence a week, an increase of 10% over the same period last year.
These figures may be only the tip of the iceberg, as support agencies believe that fewer than 40% of cases of domestic abuse are reported. Equally shocking is the fact that the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre received its highest number of calls – at 24,000, a 5% increase – since the centre was founded 47 years ago.
Dismayingly, these increases are happening at a time when the Government has declared a ‘transformative policy’ of zero tolerance for gender-based violence. Cuan, the agency dedicated to domestic, sex and gender-based violence, is already a year into its three-year plan, based on a four-pillar policy of protection, prevention, prosecution and policy co-ordination.
Abuse survivors are at the heart of their work, while initiatives to tackle the root causes and to challenge the myths and misconceptions which underlie abuse are among Cuan’s aspirations.
So far, their plans don’t seem to be working very well, given the continually rising figures. Prevention should be about doing something effective to change the behaviour of the perpetrators, predominantly men, who, among other causes for what they do, may feel “entitled” to beat, rape or control women.
The main initiatives undertaken by Cuan include an increase in the maximum penalty for offences from five to 10 years in prison, a campaign around sexual consent and a plan to double the number of women’s shelters from 141 to 282, with 52 new units by next year.
Worthwhile though these may be, they fall into the repeating pattern where abused partners and children may have to take refuge, punitively losing their homes. Barring orders are another option but perhaps abusers should be contained elsewhere and helped to heal. Advertising to raise awareness features help for the abused or refuges for abused women. It doesn’t call out the unacceptability of abuse or offer abusers help.
In many cases the abuser is free to continue the pattern of abuse without remedial intervention. The disturbing case of Garda Paul Moody, sentenced this month, is a chilling example. Previously jailed for three years for the abuse of one woman, he then subjected another partner and the mother of his child to horrific psychological and physical abuse.
Many cases of abuse are either withdrawn or dropped due to lack of evidence. According to Ruth Coppinger, speaking to a Private Members’ Bill, last year 35% of women experienced physical, psychological or sexual abuse from an intimate partner, while only 5% of those who experience sexual violence report it to the Gardaí and only 14% of those cases make it to trial. The Gardaí now have specially trained Protective Service Units in every division, with domestic abuse as part of their remit.
Remedial interventions – like the exemplary organisation Men Ending Domestic Violence (MEND) – are few and far between.
The underlying reasons for men’s abusive behaviour include poor self-esteem, anti-social personality, rigid attitudes to gender roles, substance abuse or depression. Without intervention or consequences, abuse may continue.
“One positive factor may be an increased willingness by survivors to seek support and report abuse,” says Nadine O’Brien, Director of Saoirse Domestic Violence Services. “Thanks to raised awareness, victim-survivors are recognising behaviours as abuse. At the same time, frontline services are concerned that levels of abuse are increasing in severity and complexity.”
“The housing crisis and rising cost of living add to stress and the pressure on families. We are also increasingly concerned about online misogyny and harmful narratives, particularly ‘manosphere’ influencers and platforms that normalise hostility to women, entitlement and coercive behaviour.”
Easy access to violent and degrading pornography may be shaping harmful attitudes and expectations around sex, relationships and power. Increased reporting is a sign of reaching out but also a sign of the prevalence and seriousness of domestic abuse.”
At present, the approach to the spreading epidemic of domestic abuse is like dealing with the consequences of a disease rather than treating the cause.
Until that happens, I believe those chilling figures won’t go down.
