Irish Sunday Mirror

‘He burnt all of her clothes to stop her escaping from him’

Homeless on rise as violence soars in lockdown

- BY SYLVIA POWNALL news@irishmirro­r.ie

FRONTLINE support groups have warned of a looming crisis as the number of domestic violence victims made homeless during lockdown escalates.

Stop Domestic Violence In Ireland has teamed up with Dublin’s Inner City Helping Homeless charity to make a joint public appeal.

They’re seeking donations of clothing, basic toiletries and dry goods to help the growing number of women who have found themselves on the streets and relying on refuge centres for shelter.

The appeal comes as gardai this week reported a 25% rise in domestic violence calls during the pandemic – with 8,229 contacts logged from January to May 25.

Recently, reported cases vary from physical violence to severe emotional and financial abuse, according to SDVII.

CASES

One woman told how her partner burned all her clothes to prevent her from leaving – and another had a bag put over her head in an attempt to suffocate her.

SDVII founder Priscilla Grainger told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “There has been huge increase in the number of cases being reported to us – and the problem just seems to be getting worse and worse.

“In one case, a victim’s clothes were all burned by an abusive partner in an attempt to prevent them from leaving.

“In many cases, victims have found themselves in financial crisis because they are not being paid maintenanc­e.

“Other victims have found themselves in massive debt as a result of their abusive partner’s addiction problems.”

In some cases, ex-partners are refusing to return children to their mothers in the knowledge the courts are open for emergency orders only.

In these instances, the mothers were too afraid to go to the father’s house without the protection of the courts.

A leading family law solicitor said there has been a significan­t increase in women seeking protection of the courts.

Sandra Mcaleer, who is based in Dublin, told how most of the interim barring orders she has applied for since lockdown began have been granted. She said this illustrate­s the “horrific” nature of some of the domestic abuse cases. Ms Mcaleer added: “In fairness to the courts, there is a fairly high threshold that needs to be met for an interim barring order to be granted but the majority of the ones I have applied for on behalf of clients recently have been granted.

SUFFOCATE

“The scale and the nature of much of the abuse has been pretty horrific. In one case a woman had a bag put over her head in an attempt to suffocate her.”

Ms Mcaleer said the lockdown conditions, where families are “trapped” behind closed doors without any outside visits, has exacerbate­d the problem.

She revealed: “In many cases the victims have no money – the kids are not at school and the abuser is drinking at home, which is causing huge stress and in many cases is resulting in violence.

“However, it’s important to highlight that help is out there.

“The family courts are open for victims of domestic violence every day if they need to make an applicatio­n for Protection Orders and Interim Barring Orders. No one should suffer in silence.”

The rise in domestic abuse cases is also impacting the homeless crisis as more victims with no resources desperatel­y turn to support groups and refuges for help.

Ms Grainger said: “Covid-19 has sparked a huge increase in cases of domestic violence, which is turn is fuelling the homeless crisis.

“We’ve been inundated with calls

In one case a woman had a bag put over her head SANDRA MCALEER DUBLIN YESTERDAY

from victims who are looking for a pair of shoes, a coat, a jumper – some literally had to escape with the clothes on their backs.”

VICTIMS

Dublin city councillor Anthony Flynn, founder of ICHH, also confirmed the organisati­on is seeing more victims of domestic abuse seeking their help.

He said many housing organisati­ons and charities are witnessing “a severe increase” in demands for services since the pandemic hit. Mr Flynn added: “Many of the people coming to us have lost their jobs, others have suffered a loss of income which is all contributi­ng to the homeless crisis.

“Over the past 11 weeks, Inner City Helping Homeless has seen a 35% increase in services.”

He also warned of a “tsunami of evictions” in coming months as tenants who have lost jobs or had incomes cut are no longer able to pay their rent.

Some have landed in debt due to partner’s addiction

PRISCILLA GRAINGER

YESTERDAY

 ??  ??
 ??  ?? SUPPORT
Priscilla and Ainie Grainger
SUPPORT Priscilla and Ainie Grainger
 ??  ?? APPEAL Cllr Anthony Flynn
APPEAL Cllr Anthony Flynn
 ??  ?? LIVING HELL Domestic violence has rocketed
LIVING HELL Domestic violence has rocketed

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