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About Domestic Violence
Definition of Domestic Violence
Domestic Violence is an escalating pattern of abuse where one partner in an intimate relationship controls the other, through force, intimidation or the threat of violence.
It comes in many forms including:
- Physical
- Sexual
- Emotional
- Verbal
- Psychological
- Financial
- Spiritual
- Homophobic
- Immigration
- Destructive
It occurs in all countries and in all social classes. Violence against women crosses all geographical, class, race and sexual orientation boundaries. Here in Ireland, it is said that about 1 in 5 women has experienced Domestic Violence.
Domestic Violence is the use of physical, sexual and/or emotional force or threat in any way that causes distress to the victim. It includes non-verbal intimidation such as persistent emotional blackmail and enforced social or financial deprivation and damage to property.
Recent Data on Domestic Violence
The continuing challenge that Domestic Violence presents to everyone
in the community should not be underestimated. A recent overview on the
prevalence of Violence in the Home, documented findings from the main
official national studies and surveys on Domestic Violence in EU countries:
- 40 per cent of women have suffered several acts of violence
within their family environment' (Belgium);
- 22 per cent of all married and cohabiting women have been victims
of physical or sexual violence or threats of violence from their present partners; this increased to 50 per cent 'for all women who had lived in a relationship which had already ended' (Finland);
- 20.8 per cent of women were 'subjected to physical violence by a
partner at some time in their lives' (Netherlands);
- 43 per cent of acts of violence against women 'took place in a
private setting, primarily the family' (Portugal);
- 46 per cent of all crimes of violence committed against women were domestic in origin (UK).
European Women's Lobby, 1999 |
Here in Ireland we know from a 1995 national survey that:
- 18 per cent of all women have reported suffering physical attacks
from their partners;
- 59 per cent of women have reported knowing a woman who had
experienced male violence in the home;
- 36 per cent of women respondents in a survey of doctors' surgeries
in north-east Dublin reported suffering Domestic Violence.
Kelleher and Associates, 1995. |
It is well known that because of the huge level of under-reporting about
violence in the home, official study figures like these are only the tip of
the iceberg when it comes to the actual incidence of Domestic Violence.
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