Plea for emergency funding support as domestic violence soars during pandemic

Pressure on counselling and psychologist services

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Ralph Riegel Twitter Email

March 22 2021 07:06 PM

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has been urged to provide emergency funding to help domestic violence victims amid a surge in attacks during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Charities and support groups warned that incidents of domestic violence have spiraled in Ireland during the pandemic, with protection and barring order applications soaring by 40pc in just a three-month period in Dublin.
Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford charities and support groups have also indicated a surge in domestic violence reports and requests for help from victims.
Worldwide there has been a marked increase in incidents of domestic violence with factors ranging from financial pressures due to Covid-19, pandemic-related stress, increased levels of alcohol and drug abuse as well as the impact of lockdowns and travel restrictions.
Safe Ireland’s latest report revealed that, on average, 550 children a month received support from a dedicated domestic violence service over the four-month period from September to December 2020.

Over the first six months of the pandemic, from March to September 2020, an average of 411 children accessed services each month.
Cork County Mayor Mary Linehan-Foley warned that it was totally unacceptable for the perpetrators of domestic violence to have access to psychological, medical and counselling support in custody while the victims of violence are left struggling to access the same type of services.
She warned that the scale of the problem needs to be recognised with emergency funding provided for free support services and enhanced shelter facilities – and urged council support in directly raising the crisis with the Government and the Department of Health.
"The perpetrators have access to psychological services, counselling and everything they need when they are in prison and doing their time," she said.
"But unfortunately for the victims, they don't have anything like this available to them."
"Often there is a long waiting list and especially during this pandemic time there can be no psychologist or psychiatrist available for a number of weeks."
She said it was "very disheartening" to see such a contrast in approach to the problem.
"I am basically asking Health Minister Stephen Donnelly to put something in place so that the victims of these horrendous crimes can be looked after and can access the critical support services they so desperately need."