Keep an eye on those who may be victims of abuse

I AM sure it’s been a reality check for many of the citizens of this country to learn that 54,000 complaints of domestic violence have been reported to gardaí so far this year.

There remains too much emphasis on tackling domestic abuse after it has happened and too little on keeping women and their children safe by preventing domestic violence in the first place. Sadly domestic abuse services have historically been under-resourced and are now much more so.

In too many areas, services remain a revolving door, focused on managing immediate risks rather than taking a preventative long-term approach that supports women to rebuild their lives.

It remains a rarity to find domestic abuse services in hospitals and GPs’ surgeries with which abused women come into contact, despite the fact that almost a third of domestic abuse starts in pregnancy and that it is a leading cause of foetal death.

I believe that the family courts too have to play a greater role in keeping women and children safe. The courts have to impose limited children’s contact with parents who pose a significant risk to their safety. Alas, many abuse perpetrators do not receive any specialist interventions to reduce the chances of their reoffending. Without this, many abusers simply move on to the next victim.

As a clinician, I have found that the pattern of behaviours used by the perpetrator of violence and abuse is to work on creating an isolated environment for the victim who then has less contact with friends and family. It’s important to remember that abusers may also take control over their partners without ever using physical violence.

The gardaí have urged anyone suffering domestic, sexual or gender-based violence now or in the past to contact any garda station. The guards will provide support and advice on court orders. They will make sure that protective measures are put in place to ensure that victims and their children are kept safe.

It’s not uncommon to see a Christmas spike in domestic violence. Money tensions, unrealistic expectations and excessive alcohol consumption can make Christmas a peak period for domestic abuse.

Therefore it’s good for all of us to keep an eye on those who may be vulnerable.

John O’Brien, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary.

Keep the triple lock

I NOTED with interest the letter from a retired army officer in last week’s Irish Mail on Sunday. He made the point that the triple lock on our army’s deployment was not fit for purpose.

In my opinion if we change the system we will be handing over control of our military to the bureaucrats in Brussels and to Nato. There’s no point in saying this will never happen as it is already begun i.e. military flights in and out of Shannon and the training of foreign soldiers here.

It is also clear to me that the pressure for this change is coming from the EU. This is far too important not to be put to a referendum. It is the Irish people and only the Irish people who should decide on this, not the Government or the military.

Ruth Gorman, Drogheda, Co. Louth.

RTÉ set to get worse

IT seems strange to me that since 2011 RTÉ has put so much emphasis on keeping 2FM. (MoS, December 3). Yet at the same time RTÉ has slashed funding to young people’s content and has no real plans for drama (its budget in 2022 getting just 2% of RTÉ’s overall budget). As for RTÉ comedy, that is a joke in itself.

Drama and comedy are key to a youth demographic and yet RTÉ has failed in both. Surely RTÉ must realise that without other attractions 2FM is bound to just be another bland pop station on radio, a platform that young people have moved away from.

RTÉ’S only plan in its ‘new direction’ is to cut without any real contemplation of the effects of cuts. The plan is to make a bad public service broadcaster worse.

Éamonn Geoghegan, Co. Westmeath.

Dáil free speech

THE taking apart of Sinn Féin by Government parties during the confidence debate this week was a joy to behold. Paradoxically, much of the truth articulated that day under Dáil privilege could come under scrutiny if proposed new hate speech laws are enacted. We have ample laws already to cover every eventuality of libel. Anything more is an outright attack on freedom of speech. Citizens deserve the equivalent of Dáil privilege to call a spade a spade.