One out of five women will be beaten, raped or hospitalised within an intimate relationship, a women's rights group has claimed.
Women's Aid supporters gathered outside the Dáil today to highlight the issue and to mark International Day Against Violence Against Women.
The group posed with a "bride" in a wedding dress and said that out of every five brides, one would be "beaten, raped or hospitalised".
Margaret Martin, director of Women's Aid, said: "We are using the symbol of the wedding dress and the 'bride', a deeply significant symbol of intimate relationships, to highlight the darker side of such intimate relationships.
"While the Women's Aid helpline statistics show that marriage is still the most common context for domestic violence, it is by no means the only context, and many women experience domestic violence at the hands of co-habitees/ boyfriends and ex-partners."
Ms Martin said that despite the huge numbers of Irish women affected, services were "still inadequate" and could not cope with the demand. "Two of out every five calls to the Women's Aid helpline could not be answered in 2004 due to lack of resources."
Ms Martin said a proposed new refuge in Blanchardstown, Dublin, was under threat because of funding issues.
"Despite the numbers being turned away from refuge, and a clearly demonstrated need, as well as numerous government commitments to more refuge space in Dublin, there is a failure to live up to promises and chronic underfunding of domestic violence services," he said.
International Day Against Violence Against Women is the first day of the Global 16 Days against violence against women campaign, which ends on December 10th, International Human Rights Day.
Women's Aid national freephone number: 1800 341900.