Domestic violence experienced by women in one of the poorest areas in Dublin is more prevalent and more extreme than in other parts of the capital.
This is the stark picture of many women’s lives, marked by extreme violence complicated by drugs and repeated through generations, painted in a new report on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV) in Ballyfermot and Cherry Orchard.
The report, Unveiling the Shadows: Dynamics of Domestic Violence and Abuse in Dublin 10, was prompted by a number of suicides among young women, many of them mothers, in 2019.
The deaths of eight women aged in their 20s and 30s in a 10-week period between April and July that year prompted the HSE’s office for suicide prevention to order a “rapid assessment” of the area. It concluded domestic violence was a key factor in the deaths.
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The latest report confirms the fear articulated in that report that DSGBV “disproportionately affects” women in the area, with “a higher frequency of severe incidents”.
[ Dublin 10 has ‘elevated’ levels of violence against women, report findsOpens in new window ]
Saoirse, a local DSGBV service, was funded to employ a dedicated outreach worker following the 2020 assessment. Commissioning this report it analysed the experiences of its 122 clients late last year living in Dublin 10, Dublin 12, Dublin midwest, Tallaght southwest and Tallaght central. A scoring of risks those women faced found they “alarmingly tilt towards the higher end of the spectrum” with “numerous” women “living in situations where the risk of lethal violence is not just a possibility, but a looming threat”. Severe incidents including being “dragged down” and suffering “brain injuries”, says the report.
Descriptions of the “the devastating impact of domestic violence and abuse on children” with “harrowing accounts” of children being beaten and traumatised were recorded.
Underlining the complexity of DSGBV are the women’s experiences of intergenerational trauma, addiction, societal norms and expectations, inadequate responses by State agencies, and barriers to accurate data collection. Many had grown up around domestic violence, were “accustomed” to it and had “grown up not realising their value”, said one support worker.
Another, a Dublin 10 resident, said: “I can see things getting worse if I’m honest ... The kids now, a lot of them have grown up with parents that are in active addiction ... They’ve grown up with trauma and they don’t have the capacity to understand that it is trauma, and it is abuse.”
Drugs, particularly alcohol and cocaine, exacerbated the vulnerability of women and the volatility and unpredictability of their abusers. Addiction workers describe how young women were “groomed” into abusive relationships through drugs.
Emotional abuse tethered women to violent partners. “The abuser’s periodic expressions of love or regret ... create a glimmer of hope for change ... Emotional dependency is further reinforced by the abuser’s [isolation of] the victim/survivor from their support network, making the abuser the central, and often sole, figure in their emotional world,” it found.
It continues: “Support workers in the area are overwhelmed, managing large caseloads that encompass cases of high complexity.”
Accurately counting prevalence of DSGBV is hindered by its underreporting, which “is particularly pronounced in areas such as Dublin 10″. Crimes that involve violent abuse, including criminal damage and public order, cannot be recorded as including DSGBV on the Garda Pulse system
Describing DSGBV as a “significant and persistent public health problem for women”, the report makes numerous calls, including for an increase in refuge beds and greater awareness of the dynamics and impact of DSGBV on women and children, in local departments including housing, law enforcement and family support services.
Saoirse domestic Violence support centre: 01 463 0000 (24hr).
Samaritans: 116 123 (available 24hr).
Pieta House: 1800 247 247 (24hr) or text HELP to 51444.
Women’s Aid: 1800 341 900 (24hr)
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