Urgent need for women’s refuge
Dublin People 02 Dec 2011
A NEW study has found an urgent need for a refuge to
accommodate women who have been victims of domestic violence in the Dun
Laoghaire Rathdown area.
Launched last week by Sonas Housing,
‘A Safe Space’
examines domestic violence in the area and the services available to women.
The report outlines that many women are left in
dangerous domestic violence situations in the home because of a lack of refuge
spaces in the community.
The study noted that EU officials have recommended a
minimum provision of 122 refuge family places in the Dublin area. However, it
pointed out that there are currently only 34 spaces available in the entire
Dublin region, with no spaces at all in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown.
The study found that the lack of standardised
reporting mechanisms and inconsistent data collection in the area makes it
difficult to assess the exact level of domestic violence crime in the
community.
However, it pointed out that studies on sexual
violence found that 42 per cent of women in Ireland experienced some form of
sexual abuse or assault in their lifetime, with almost one quarter (23.6 per
cent) of perpetrators being intimate partners or ex-partners.
“Applied to the DLR area, that would suggest that
42,000 women in DLR will experience some form of sexual abuse or assault in
their lifetime and more than 6,250 women will be subjected to sexual assault by
male intimate partners in their lifetime in the DLR area,
? the report reads.
The report also noted that there is no crisis refuge
for women or full-time domestic violence support service in the area.
“There are some specialist part-time domestic violence
services providing a range of supports to women in the DLR area. The services
are small, under-resourced, cannot cater for the existing demand and are
limited to certain economic groups and/or limited to geographic area.
?
It found that in 2010, the Bray Refuge helpline
supported 803 women through their outreach service, approximately 100 of whom
came from the DLR area.
As part of the research, key stakeholders in the area,
including representatives from community-based women’s services, the HSE, an
Garda Siochana and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, were interviewed.
“Many of those interviewed expressed concern that
women with the highest needs are not getting into refuges or appropriate
services.
“In particular it was thought that women with mental
health and alcohol or drug addiction issues were being treated as too difficult
or risky to accommodate, rather than as women exhibiting the impacts of severe
abuse. High-support accommodation was identified as an urgent requirement.
?
In addition, stakeholders also revealed that domestic
violence is not recorded within Gardai/HSE protocols as a form of abuse, unlike
direct physical, sexual abuse and neglect.
“Interviewees cited this as a major gap, as it means
women may not be referred to the most appropriate domestic violence specific
service but instead to a more generic unsuitable service.
?
In conclusion, the report found that the data
collected in the study demonstrated that domestic violence is a
“significant
problem
? in the area with a high number of women
“disclosing abuse
?.
“There are inadequate domestic violence services in
DLR and a lack of a comprehensive full-time service. Existing part-time
services are unable to meet current demand and unable to target certain groups
of women in the county.
“There is also an absence of access to legal
protection for many women in the area.
?
The report recommended that an initial provision of
eight to 10
‘family spaces’ be provided in the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown area,
with an absolute minimum of six family spaces.
Senator Ivana Bacik (Lab) who attended the launch of
the report last week said that domestic violence is a major cause of
homelessness in Ireland.
“Domestic violence, like many human services issues is
complex. It is undeniably a major cause of homelessness in women,
? she said.
“This report finds an urgent need for a full-time domestic violence refuge
service in DLR where there is currently no refuge provision. This is a
situation that is unfortunately replicated all across the country.
?
Rachel Mullen, chairperson of Sonas Housing, said that
the lack of emergency accommodation for female victims of domestic violence in
the area could be
“the difference between life and death
?.
“Not having enough refuge spaces has serious
implications that could result in serious injury to women and children and – in
a worst case scenario – tragic, unnecessary deaths that sadly could be
prevented,
? she said.
The full report can be accessed online on the website
sonashousing.ie
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