ANALYSIS:The HSE's new guidelines to, in effect, make haste slowly when reacting to domestic violence accord with best practice
YESTERDAY'S IRISH Timesreported that the Health Service Executive (HSE) had issued new guidance to social workers as to how they should work with families suffering domestic violence and abuse. The document on best practice advises social workers "to listen to the wishes of the woman suffering the abuse rather than making quick judgments that could place her or her children in danger".
It is assumed that the HSE has chosen to use the words “woman” and “women” to reflect the fact that while men are also victims of domestic violence, the vast majority of victims are women.
Included in the HSE guidelines is a recommendation that social workers should not immediately encourage a woman to leave an abusive relationship in case it provokes a “catastrophic event”. This recommendation accords with international evidence that women can be at their greatest risk of serious violence and death in the immediate aftermath of their leaving, a phenomenon known as the “retaliation effect”.
The important point is made that while some social workers already follow this practice, the guide aims to “promote a more thorough approach across the country”.
The HSE guidance is issued against a growing awareness and concern about domestic violence and abuse. Domestic abuse and violence have a devastating impact on both child and adult victims. At one extreme, it is reported that of 140 women murdered in the Republic since 1996, 87 of these women were killed in their own homes.
More generally, research by the National Crime Council and Economic and Social Research Institute (NCC/ESRI) concluded in 2005 that 15 per cent of women and 6 per cent of men had experienced severely abusive behaviour in their relationships.
The percentage of those who had experienced severe emotional abuse was even higher (26 per cent for women and 23 per cent for men). A 2008 survey on attitudes to domestic abuse in Ireland by Cosc, the National Agency for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence, reported a high level of awareness about domestic violence among the general population.
At the same time, it is widely believed that the extent of domestic abuse is hidden for a number of reasons including the stigma attached to the issue and because it can be embedded in family breakdown and divorce. The HSE guidelines draw attention to the fact that any intervention to support and assist those being subjected to domestic violence and abuse should be informed by research and, more importantly, by the views and experiences of the victim.
It is important that the HSE is making efforts to ensure that its practice is compliant both with the available research as to the efficacy of interventions, informed by the overriding principle of the safety of the victim, and by the views of the victim him/herself.
By contrast, it is arguable that the Irish legal system currently does neither. On the civil side, the Domestic Violence Act 1996 provides a number of civil remedies for victims of domestic violence who can apply to the District Court for either a safety order, a barring order or a protection order which serve to restrain the movements and behaviour of the perpetrator.
The HSE, too, can apply for either a safety or barring order on behalf of someone whose safety is at risk in certain circumstances. However, data on the number and type of orders made, the rate at which their breach is prosecuted (because breach of such an order is a criminal offence) and the variety of approaches in this area all raise questions about the extent to which these remedies are operating to protect victims effectively.
In particular, they suggest a certain loss of faith in the legal system by victims who may feel that they cannot count on it to address the very serious risk they and their children face.
In the light of this complexity, many states have chosen to abandon attempts to make the problem fit the existing mould of the civil and criminal law and have created either hybrid or entirely new legal structures, including domestic violence courts within the family law system.
Research shows the importance of having in place remedies that are accessible to victims, specialised, offer information, advocacy and support to victims, and ensure victims’ safety.
In this regard, there has been a noteworthy international movement in favour of alternative forms of justice for victims of domestic violence, including in particular, the adoption of problem-solving courts which aim to take a long-term and holistic view.
The implementation of similar reforms in Ireland would be welcome, but an important first step is to listen to the battered person’s voice. The 2005 NCC/ESRI study found that women did not report abuse to the Garda for a variety of reasons, but the most worrying were because they did not believe that it was a matter for the Garda (11 per cent), that any action gardaí took would be ineffective (6 per cent ) and fear that they would not be believed or their abuser’s response(6 per cent).
If the wishes of victims who come to the attention of the HSE are treated with respect, it is more likely that they will report abuse to the Garda if matters progress to that level. This would be to the benefit of not just victims of domestic violence but society as a whole.
Dr Ursula Kilkelly and Dr Catherine O’Sullivan are attached to the faculty of law in University College Cork