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Day 16: 1 in 2 women murdered in Ireland are killed by their partner or ex
Posted on December 10, 2020
On the final day of the 2020 16 Facts for 16 Days campaign, we highlight the link between femicide and domestic violence. 3 women have died violently in 2020.Through our Femicide Watch project, we know that a woman in Ireland is more likely to be killed in her own home and by a current or former partner or spouse than anyone else as almost 9 in 10 (87%) of women knew their killer.
The report reveals that since the beginning of 1996, when Women’s Aid began the Femicide Watch project, 236 women have died violently in the Republic of Ireland[1]. 18 children were killed alongside their mothers. 147 women (62%) were killed in their own homes.
Permanent link | Categories: 16 Facts for 16 Days • Day 16 • 10th December • 2020
Day 15: Violence against women is highly under-reported with less than 40% of women seeking help or reporting these crimes
Posted on December 09, 2020
UN Women stats that less than 40% of the women who experience violence seek help of any sort. In the majority of countries with available data on this issue, among women who do seek help, most look to family and friends and very few look to formal institutions, such as police and health services. Less than 10 per cent of those seeking help appealed to the police (the Worlds Women, 2020).
Permanent link | Categories: 16 Facts for 16 Days • Day 15 • 9th December • 2020
Day 14: Violence against women is a violation of human rights. Together we can stop this.
Posted on December 08, 2020
The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women defines “violence against women” as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.”
Permanent link | Categories: 16 facts for 16 days • Day 14 • 8th December • 2020
Day 13: During the first Covid-19 lockdown, there was a 43% rise in contacts with the 24hr National Freephone Helpline
Posted on December 07, 2020
Over the last 9 months Women’s Aid has been on the frontline answering calls from women who are trapped at home with very dangerous abusers. Women have told us of the devastating effects that lockdown restrictions have had on them. Abusers have used the restrictions as an excuse not to leave after they have been violent. When abusers did not have physical access to current or former partners, they persisted with the abuse through text, phone call, video call and social media. Women with underlying health conditions also reported instances of their partners deliberately not adhering to Covid-19 restrictions and effectively weaponising the virus by coughing or spitting on them.
Permanent link | Categories: 16 Facts for 16 Days • Day 13 • 7th December • 2020
Day 12: the global pandemic has further reduced refuge capacity
Posted on December 06, 2020
The number of domestic violence refuge’s in Ireland is inadequate and although Ireland has ratified the Istanbul Convention, the number of refuges we have does not meet the conventions standards which require states to provide specialist support services and refuges, in sufficient numbers and in an adequate geographical distribution (Articles 22 and 23).
The number of refuge spaces required is 1 family space per 10,000 people living in the country. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Ireland only had one third of the required refuge space. Moreover, refuges are not available in every county. In 2018, refuges were unable to accommodate 3,256 requests from women. More recent data from the Women’s Aid Helpline confirms this worrying trend.
Permanent link | Categories: 16 Facts for 16 Days • Day 12 • 6th December • 2020
Day 11: Since the Covid-19 outbreak domestic violence across the world has intensified
Posted on December 05, 2020
The Covid-19 crisis has been devastating for so many in different ways. Livelihoods have been lost, isolation and loneliness has taken its toll and some have paid the ultimate cost with their lives as a result of contracting the virus. We have been called on to stay home to stay safe and protect ourselves and those we love. However, for too many women and children, home is anything but safe. For those living with domestic violence, Covid-19 has created the perfect storm for abusive partners to exercise control and inflict violence on women and children. Access to support services for those suffering domestic violence has also been reduced as well as shelter capacity so that those affected are left feeling more trapped and with fewer options than ever.
Permanent link | Categories: 16 Facts for 16 Days • Day 11 • 5th December • 2020
Day 10: 49 calls per day responded to by the Women's Aid 24hr National Freephone Helpline in 2019
Posted on December 04, 2020
The Women's Aid 24hr National Freephone Helpline 1800 341 900 is a service for women experiencing emotional, physical, sexual and financial abuse by a current or former partner. We are also available for family, friends and professionals concerned about women who may be living with domestic violence.
Our Helpline staff and volunteers answered, on average, 49 calls per day in 2019.
The 24hr National Freephone Helpline is open 7 days a week. The Helpline provides vital support and information to individual callers and serves as an access point to other Women's Aid services and to support services and refuges nationwide. The 24hr National Freephone Helpline is free of charge to callers in the Republic of Ireland.
Permanent link | Categories: Day 10 • 16 Facts for 16 Days • 4th December • 2020
Day 9: 1 in 2 women in the EU has been sexually harassed
Posted on December 03, 2020
An 2014 EU–wide survey from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) found that, depending on the number of different forms of sexual harassment that were asked about in the survey, an estimated 83 million to 102 million women (45% to 55% of women) in the EU have experienced sexual harassment since the age of 15. 42,000 women across the then 28 member states of the EU took part in the survey.
Definitions for sexual harassment vary but in Ireland 14A (7) of the Employment Equality Act define sexual harassment as:
‘any form of unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature which has the purpose or effect of violating as person’s dignity and creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading humiliating or offensive environment for the person’
Permanent link | Categories: 16 Facts for 16 Days • Day 9 • 3rd December • 2020
Day 8: 4,791 disclosures of child abuse to Women 's Aid in 2019
Posted on December 02, 2020
In 2019 there were 4,791 disclosures of abuse of children in the context of domestic violence made to Women’s Aid. The abuse of children disclosed included children being physically, sexually and emotionally abused as well as witnessing domestic abuse against their mothers. Some women indicated that they felt their children were at risk of abuse during access visits with their father.
Abuse against children disclosed to Women’s Aid in 2019 includes:
Permanent link | Categories: Day 8 • 16 Facts for 16 Days • 2nd December • 2020
Day 7: Women exposed to domestic violence are twice as likely to experience depression.
Posted on December 01, 2020
Domestic violence can lead to depression, post-traumatic stress and other anxiety disorders, sleep difficulties, eating disorders and suicide attempts. A 2013 analysis found that women who have experienced intimate partner violence were almost twice as likely to experience depression (World Health Organisation, 2020). A UK study also found a strong association between exposure to intimate partner violence and mental illness and that the relationship was significant when assessing the link between anxiety, depression and serious mental illness and intimate partner violence.
Permanent link | Categories: Day 7 • 16 Facts for 16 Days • 1st December • 2020