I have been stabbed and had my jaw broken.. by someone I loved Terror of domestic abuse in RTE show
Claire’s harrowing story is one of many told in an RTE online documentary which talks to young survivors.
One in five women in Ireland will experience domestic abuse, and a growing number of young women are now experiencing it in the early stages of relationships.
Since 1996, 39 women aged 18 to 25 have been murdered in Ireland, with 52% of victims in resolved cases killed by a boyfriend or former partner.
Nicola Clarke, assistant director of midwifery and nursing at the National Maternity Hospital, said the number of women presenting during pregnancy with reduced foetal movements as a Nicola Clarke result of domestic violence is on the increase.
She added: “We would notice during an abdominal examination that they might have bruising, the babies showing signs of being distressed.”
Kate, not her real name, said the first time her husband physically assaulted her was when she was expecting their second child.
She revealed: “He banged my head against the wall and left the room. I was just left in a ball sobbing, five months pregnant.”
She said she should have realised worse was to come when driving back from hospital with their newborn daughter he roared that she was “another whinge bag” like her mother when she started crying. In desperation Kate tried to commit suicide so her children could benefit from her life insurance policy because “I couldn’t see any other way that I could do anything for them”.
Shortly afterwards she plucked up the courage to take her kids and leave when her husband turned on their young son one night after she’d gone to bed.
URSULA REGAN FAMILY LAW SOLICITOR
ABUSE
Family law solicitor Ursula Regan warned other forms of “digital” domestic abuse have increased. She said: “Women old and young are being stalked. They are having, in certain cases, images put up on pornographic sites. “Often people are being abused through social media and they don’t realise it.” UPFRONT: Domestic Abuse is currently available to view on the RTE Player. sylvia.pownall@irishmirror.ie Ursula Regan