Nearly 22 new women and children a day have sought help from a domestic violence helpline since the Covid-19 pandemic began.
A total of 3,450 women and 589 children who had never contacted a domestic violence service before sought help during the first six months of Covid-19, Safe Ireland revealed on Tuesday.
This equates to 575 ‘new’ women and 98 ‘new’ children every month, or 19 new women and 3 children every day.
Their report, called Tracking the Shadow Pandemic, is based on frontline services offering support for domestic abuse victims across the country.
The frightening figures mean that 575 “new” women and 98 “new” children every month sought help for the first time - or 19 new women and 3 children every day.
Mary McDermott of Safe Ireland, the national umbrella agency for 39 frontline domestic violence services, said that the study exposes - yet again - patterns of domestic violence heightened by the pandemic.
And she slammed the Government for “name-checking” domestic violence as a priority but not backing these words up with the necessary resources and infrastructure.
Ms McDermott said: “The number of new women and children who came forward during the first lockdown is eye-opening and indicative of the depth of hidden abuse and trauma in this country.
“Since the start of Covid-19 the Government has prioritised domestic violence and we have always welcomed this.
“But calling something a priority means that it also has to be name-checked in the national budget, and funded and resourced as a priority.
“Our member services are at breaking point now and can no longer be expected to work, without clarity, without adequate resources and within an antiquated infrastructure.”
A total of 33,941 helpline calls were answered across the country between March and August - an average of 184 calls every day.
By comparison, in 2018, domestic violence services responded to an average of 147 calls a day.
The number of women accessing services decreased by 8% between March and April as lockdown restrictions came into full effect.
But, since April, the numbers have steadily increased month on month.
In July, at least 2,210 women received support from services, the highest amount of any month.
August saw the highest numbers of children receiving support at 578, an increase of 36% over July figures.
