33% Increase in Domestic Abuse Disclosures to Women’s Aid in 2025

  • In 2025, Women’s Aid national and face-to-face frontline services were contacted 37,790 times, an increase of 11.5% on 2024. A record high for these services.
  • Women’s Aid’s frontline teams heard a total of 62,275 disclosures of domestic violence and abuse including 57,520 disclosures against women and 4,755 disclosures of abuse against children. An overall increase of 33% on 2024. 
  • These disclosures include: 1,522 disclosures of abuse during pregnancy or post-partum, 1,321 threats by abusers to kill women, children, family members or to self-harm, 670 disclosures of abusers threatening to have children taken from mothers and 381 disclosures of rape. Women’s Aid heard 512 disclosures of non-fatal strangulation against women and 906 situations of stalking, both online and offline.
  • 32% of women in contact with Women’s Aid services in 2025 were being subjected to domestic abuse from their ex-partner, confirming the harsh reality that for many victims – survivors, ending the relationship does not end the abuse.
  • Serious challenges with the family justice system, post separation abuse and the housing crisis negatively impacts on victim-survivors’ abilities to access justice and safety.
  • Government must engage fully with specialist DSGBV organisations to co-create the Fourth National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, and other relevant new strategies, including Housing and Family Justice.


Wednesday, 24th June 2026: Women’s Aid, a leading national organisation supporting victims-survivors of domestic abuse, saw its number of contacts increase by 11.5% in 2025, a record high for its services. The Women’s Aid Annual Impact Report 2025, launched today, reveals that the organisation recorded 62,275 disclosures of abuse against women and children during 37,790 contacts last year. Disclosures in 2025 increased by 33% on 2024, which is also a record high for the Women’s Aid National Freephone Helpline and face-to-face support services. The significant growth in disclosures illustrates sustained high levels of violence against women, but also a greater public understanding of what constitutes domestic abuse and deeper engagement with Women’s Aid services.

Last year, women told Women’s Aid that their partners or ex-partners were subjecting them to a broad and brutal pattern of abuse. Women reported assaults with weapons, constant surveillance, and monitoring, relentless put downs and humiliations, the taking and sharing of intimate images online, complete control over all family finances, sexual assault, rape and being threatened with theirs or their children’s lives. The impacts on these women were chilling and ranged from exhaustion, isolation, and hopelessness to serious injury, suffering miscarriages, poverty, feeling a loss of identity and suicide ideation, hypervigilance, and homelessness. 

Women’s Aid CEO, Sarah Benson says: 

“The number and nature of the disclosures of abuse to our frontline services is utterly appalling. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Thirty five percent of women in Ireland (one in three) suffer physical, psychological or sexual abuse from an intimate partner. The level of demand for Women’s Aid services during 2025 remained both unprecedented and deeply concerning. Behind every contact and disclosure is a woman or child navigating fear, coercion, and harm, often within situations of profound complexity. Abuse continues to manifest across emotional, physical, sexual, and economic dimensions, frequently compounded by housing insecurity, financial strain, and systemic barriers within the justice system. Each disclosure represents very serious harm perpetrated against a woman or child by someone they should be able to trust.”

Over the past four years, Women’s Aid has experienced a sustained and accelerating increase in demand for its specialist domestic violence services with most women engaging with services for the first time, demonstrating the ongoing need for accessible, trusted pathways into specialist support.

In 2025, women reported their partners or ex-partners subjecting them to abuse including persistent intimidation, threats, and humiliation; assaults including rape, hitting, kicking, and strangulation; and isolation from family, friends and other sources of support.

Linda Smith, Head of National Helpline Services says: 

“Women rarely disclose a single form of abuse. Instead, they describe  overlapping and cumulative experiences of harm, most common characterised by emotional abuse alongside physical, sexual, and economic abuse. There was a significant increase in the number of disclosures of multiple forms of emotional abuse suffered by women 2025. This was mainly the result of longer calls and engagement with women who were experiencing complex abuse and coercive control. We heard reports of humiliation, monitoring of movements and communications, isolation, accusations of infidelity and extreme jealousy and possessiveness.”

In 2025, Women’s Aid recorded 11,147 disclosures of abuse that constituted coercive control, which has been a stand-alone offence in Ireland since 2019. This is the first year that Women’s Aid has been able to report on this figure. Women’s Aid also heard 1,522 disclosures of abuse during pregnancy or post-partum, 1,321 threats by abusers to kill women, children, family members or to self-harm, 670 disclosures of abusers threatening to have children taken from mothers and 381 disclosures of rape. Women’s Aid heard 512 disclosures of non-fatal strangulation against women and 906 situations of stalking, both online and offline.
 
Sarah Benson says: 
“Every day women are being hurt and abused by the person who is supposed to love them. The person closest to them. Last year, 32% of women in contact with our services were being subjected to domestic abuse from their ex-partner, confirming the harsh reality that for many victims of abuse, ending the relationship does not end the abuse. Separating from a controlling and abusive partner is difficult and a time of heightened risk.  Many women have children with their abuser and needed to access the Courts in relation to children’s matters.  
Both Women’s Aid’s on the ground experience and national research show that the family law system is failing many women and children. The process is prolonged, costly and dis-empowering. It often results in unsafe custody and access arrangements which disregard the impact of domestic abuse including coercive control on children. All stakeholders contributing to the running of our justice systems need to be vigilant to the endemic presence of domestic abuse – in particular across all family law proceedings and attuned to the insidious nature and impact of coercive control in order for us to effectively recognise and take mitigating action from first point of contact with the justice system.”

Sarah Benson continues: 

“Our work does not take place in isolation. The broader environment continues to present significant challenges. The housing crisis, delays within the legal system, limited or no access to legal aid, and the ongoing cost-of-living pressures all intersect with domestic violence in ways that can limit options for women seeking safety. For many, leaving an abusive relationship remains fraught with risk and uncertainty.
 
 While specialist organisations like Women’s Aid play a vital role, meaningful change depends on collective effort and long-term commitment, including for those women who may not be aware of or reaching specialist domestic violence services including disabled, ethnic minority and migrant women, and women in homelessness. 
 
 As the Government sets about preparing not just the Fourth National Domestic Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Strategy, but also the next iteration of the Family Justice Strategy, and the implementation of the Housing Plan (2025-2030) we remind them that consultation and co-creation with specialist organisations is crucial to fully address the persistent scourge of domestic violence through DSGBV informed, coordinated, sustained action across public policy, service provision, and in positively influencing societal attitudes.”

Ends. 

Support Information  

 
Notes to the producers/editor: 

  • Women’s Aid is a national, feminist organisation working to prevent and address the impact of domestic violence and abuse including coercive control, in Ireland since 1974. We do this by advocating, influencing, training, and campaigning for effective responses to reduce the scale and impacts of domestic abuse on women and children in Ireland and providing high quality, specialised, integrated, support services.
  • Photo call: Media doorstep and photocall, outside (weather pending) at 10.40 at Wood Quay Venue, Dublin 2. Launch photos will be released to picture desks before 1pm on Wednesday 24th June 2026 by Paul Sharp, paul@sharppix.ie, 0866689087
  • Key statistics in 2025:
  • 37,790 contacts with Women’s Aid, including:
  • 28,179 contacts with the 24hr National Freephone Helpline (including calls, messages, and emails)
  • 9,611 contacts with Face-to-Face Support Services (including one-to-one support, court accompaniments, drop-in visits, HRSP (High Risk Support Project) support sessions)
  • 62,275 disclosures of domestic abuse against women and children:
  • 57,520 disclosures of abuse against women, including emotional abuse (38,528), physical abuse (10,825), economic abuse (5,147) and sexual abuse (3,020).
  • 4,755 disclosures of emotional, sexual and physical abuse of children.
  • 85% of women in contact with Women’s Aid were abused by a current or former male intimate partner, including 32% who were experiencing abuse after the relationship ended. An additional 9% of women were abused by a man who was not an intimate partner or ex-partner. 6% of women disclosed abuse by a female abuser.
  • 1382 callers to the Women’s Aid 24hr National Freephone Helpline identified as being deaf/hard of hearing, Disabled, coming from a Migrant, Traveller, or Roma background, with Women’s Aid facilitating 799 calls through 36 different languages.
  • 7 women lost their lives in violent circumstances in 2025.