MORE THAN 54,000 complaints of domestic violence have been reported to gardaí so far this year.
According to the Garda National Protective Services Bureau (GNPSC), a total of 54,047 domestic violence reports have been made to gardaí in 2023, an increase of 8% compared to last year.
Detective Chief Superintendent Colm Noonan told reporters this afternoon that there has been a positive change in how people view, understand and tolerate domestic sexual and gender-based violence across Ireland.
“It’s in our homes, it’s in our communities, it’s across the country and I think we all recognise now how absolutely unacceptable it is. It must always remain unacceptable and I want to reassure everybody who’s listening, that we are here to listen, we’re here to protect and we’re here to support victims and survivors,” he said.
Gardaí spoke of the work they were doing to tackle domestic violence as part of the annual United Nations’ 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign.
The international campaign begins on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day.
Detective Superintendent Sinéad Greene said gardaí continue to see a marked increase in the number of people coming forward and reporting domestic abuse.
She said the increase in reporting is “a truer reflection of what we’re seeing in society”.
“More and more people are coming forward and reporting domestic abuse. More and more people are having the trust and confidence in the gardaí when they’re reporting domestic abuse and I think that’s reflected of that 8% increase,” she said.
She said that Christmas can be a “very frightening and isolating time” for anyone who is experiencing domestic abuse, with fewer opportunities to report abuse and access routes to safety.
For anyone experiencing domestic abuse, I would urge them to come forward and speak to a garda member who will give advice on court orders and make sure that the protective measures are put in place to ensure their safety and their children’s safety.
Greene said gardaí can apply measures to protect, prevent, and prosecute domestic violence and put protective measures in place regardless of whether a criminal complaint has been made.
“We know that it affects both men and women across society. Domestic abuse seriously impacts on a person’s life, their day-to-day activities. It affects their confidence, their ability to build relationships with our family and friends.”
She said gardaí are collaborating with other agencies and organisations to provide support for those at the highest risk of harm.
This includes working with the HSE and the Irish Pharmacy Union as part of the Irish Pharmacy Initiative. As part of this initiative, over 1,000 pharmacies nationwide are providing “a safe and discreet environment for anybody who’s experiencing domestic abuse”.
Gardaí said the Domestic Abuse Risk Evaluation Tool is now operational and in use in every garda district, division and region across the country. It is a critical assessment tool available to frontline gardaí to assess the risk posed to a domestic abuse victim by the perpetrator when responding to domestic abuse incidents.
Detective Chief Superintendent Noonan said gardaí can now accurately record the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator, which allows gardaí to record the incident as a domestic offence.
“It could be an assault, it could be criminal damage, it could be a public order row in the middle of the street, but because we can now capture the relationship between the victim and the offender, we can now properly classify that as a domestic offence,” he said.
“That kicks off a whole range of actions from the Garda aside in respect to how do we protect and support that victim, what advice do we give them and what are the next steps available to them are.”
Detective Superintendent Ian Lackey said An Garda Síochána are currently involved in an awareness-building campaign to help enhance public awareness and education around female genital mutilation (FGM).
FGM is an invasive procedure which entails partial or total removal of female external genitalia or other injury to female genital organs for non-medical reasons. The procedure is mostly carried out on young girls under the age of 18.
The practice is most prevalent in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and in some some cultures girls are deemed “unfit” for marriage until they undergo the procedure.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around 200 million women and girls around the world have undergone FGM, something that can have lifelong physical and psychological effects.
FGM has been outlawed in Ireland since 2012 and is recognised as a form of gender based-violence in the Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence.
Lackey said the practice of FGM is deeply ingrained in many cultures and family members who subject a child to FGM “do not do so to cause her harm and are not necessarily harmful or neglectful parents in general”.
He said there are very few prosecutions worldwide in relation to FGM, with one ongoing case in Ireland. “Hopefully we will never have to prosecute. We want to prevent it,” he said.
He said garda diversity officers are receiving FGM awareness training and that gardaí have met with the Family Planning Agency with Akidwa - a national network of migrant women living in Ireland - to raise awareness among the teaching profession and health professionals.
Lackey said Akidwa estimates that there are approximately 10,000 women in Ireland who have undergone FGM, mainly in their country of origin.
Lackey also spoke about sextortion, a form of blackmail that involves threatening to publish sexual information, intimate images or videos about someone.
Photos or recordings are often made without the victim realising or consenting, and they are often used to extort money or to force a victim to do something against their will.
People are often targeted through dating apps, social media and other sites, by both individuals or by organised groups.
The Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act, also known as Coco’s Law, commenced in January 2021. It criminalises the distribution of intimate images without consent.
Lackey said that gardaí have commenced 349 prosecutions related to 254 investigations under the law since it commenced.
He urged anyone who feels they are being targeted not to panic and not to pay any money if it is demanded of them. He also urged anyone who feels they are being targeted to save whatever evidence they can, including screenshots, messages and images.
He encouraged anyone affected to contact gardaí and Helpline.ie, which can assist in removing the material from social media sites.
“We very much understand that it may be difficult to report this type of crime to us, but we’re here to listen and to support you in any way we can,” he said.
Detective Superintendent Derek Maguire is in charge of the Human Trafficking Investigation Unit and the Organised Prostitution Investigation Unit.
He said the units are investigating organised crime groups who are exploiting women and men to work in the sex trade.
Prostitution was recognised as a form of gender-based violence in the Third National Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Strategy.
“We are aware that is not an offence to sell sex in Ireland as part of the 2017 Act, but there are people who are there because of debt bondage, because of financial situations and there are routes to exit that prostitution if you so wish. We can help you with that,” Maguire said.
He also said gardaí are aware that many people are trafficked into Ireland for the purpose of sexual exploitation by organised crime groups.
“If you feel that you’ve been trafficked, that someone is controlling your identity documents, someone is controlling your finances, then you are potentially a victim of human trafficking.”
Gardaí are continuing to urge anyone who has in the past or may be currently suffering Domestic, Sexual or Gender Based Violence to contact any Garda station or in an emergency to call 999/112.
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