President Michael D Higgins has slammed the “shockingly prevalent” domestic abuse of women in Ireland during Covid.
The President was speaking as part of Women’s Aid’s events to mark International Elimination of Violence Against Women Day.
Women’s Aid have reported a disturbing 42% hike in calls reporting abuse to their helpline, while the gardaí have seen one fifth rise in domestic violence callouts this year.
President Higgins said: “Every day we wait for this appalling abuse of women and girls to end is a day too many.
“And let us once and for all put an end to the suggestion that any of this violence can be covered by an appeal to cultural practice.
“Violence is violence.
“Let us hear it across the world.
“Violence against women in Ireland remains shockingly prevalent, with one-in-four women having been abused by a current or former partner according to recent statistics.
“We know from research that domestic violence tends to form a pattern of behaviour rather than an isolated event; that domestic abuse can also be linked with incidents of child abuse; that, in its extreme form, domestic abuse can and does result in female homicide – since 1996, approximately 250 women have died violently in Ireland, with two-thirds killed in their own homes.”
