Women's Aid sees 43% rise in calls to domestic violence helpline during pandemic
Women’s Aid, the national domestic violence support organisation, has seen a 43% rise in calls to its freephone helpline, as well as a 71% increase in visits to its website, during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Today (Thursday), Women's Aid released its annual impact report for 2019, which details the 20,763 contacts made with its direct services, including the 24-hour National Freephone Helpline and its Dublin-based one to one support services, last year.
During these contacts, 19,258 disclosures of domestic abuse against women, and 4,791 disclosures of abuse against children were made (24,049 disclosures in total).
Women’s Aid also released a supplementary report - ‘When Home is Not a Safe Place: Domestic Abuse during the Covid-19 Emergency’. This highlighted a 43% rise in contacts with the National Freephone Helpline between March and June of this year, with 6,400 calls taken.
In addition, there was a 71% increase in visits to the Women's Aid website, where information and resources are available to victims, survivors and their allies, during the early months of the pandemic.
Sarah Benson, CEO of Women’s Aid, commented: "Behind these figures are women whose lives have been devastated by abuse. Women disclosed being beaten, strangled, burned, raped and their lives threatened.
"They told us about being denied access to the family income, to feed and clothe themselves and their children, and being stalked and humiliated online."
Contacts with Women’s Aid services rose by 9% in 2019, compared to 2018. The organisation is encouraged by these numbers, as it means more victims are coming forward.
However, it says this is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the prevalence of domestic abuse.
Within the 2019 report, Women’s Aid published findings from an independent survey, with 937 respondents, which showed that, in addition to fear of their abuser, fear of stigma and self-blame were still major deterrents for those who suffer domestic abuse when it came to seeking support.
The survey also found that often women feel it is only physical violence that will be considered abuse.
Ailbhe Smyth, Chairperson of Women's Aid, said: "It is astonishing in 2020 to hear that women still feel silenced and afraid to come forward for help because they worry about others knowing what is happening, are ashamed and afraid of the stigma.
"We want everyone to know that their experience matters to us. Abuse is never the fault of the victim but the perpetrator, and if they contact Women’s Aid they will be supported and believed.
“It was good news that the law changed in 2019 to include the offence of coercive control, which is a pattern of highly controlling manipulative behaviour that commonly does not include physical violence, but is nonetheless devastating to victims."
* The Women’s Aid 24-hour National Freephone Helpline is: 1800 341 900 and its website is at: www.womensaid.ie