Some 213,000 women and 88,000 men have been abused severely by their partners, according to a report. The abuse includes physical and sexual assault, as well as emotional abuse. Conor Lally reports
The report's urge the Government to overhaul radically the manner in which gardaí, Government departments and other State agencies address domestic violence.
The research, published by the National Crime Council yesterday, found just over 100,000 women had been severely sexually abused. This included all forms of forced sexual acts up to and including rape. Around 120,000 women had suffered severe physical abuse by a partner, which included slapping, kicking, the threat of violence and choking.
In 2003 there were about 65 reported cases of rape within marriages or relationships and eight pregnant women required treatment at accident and emergency after being beaten by a partner.
Dr Dorothy Watson, one of the authors of the report under the auspices of the ESRI, said reported cases of domestic violence were the "tip of the iceberg". More young people reported abuse, indicating it may be increasing.
Some 66,000 male victims of severe abuse had been physically attacked by partners and about 14,000 reported suffering some form of sexual abuse.
Minister of State at the Department of Justice Frank Fahey described the findings as "surprising". The Government accepted that funding for agencies which dealt with the fall-out of domestic abuse needed to be increased.
The report - Domestic Abuse of Women and Men in Ireland - recommends a far-reaching and widespread response by the courts service, the Garda, the Health Service Executive and Government departments.
It recommends the establishment of regional family courts so that family cases are no longer heard in open District Court sittings. The authors have also recommended a review of Garda procedures and training to encourage more victims to report incidents, saying that just 22 per cent of cases are currently reported.
Furthermore, the Department of Education should introduce modules on domestic violence at post-primary level and the Health Service Executive should launch a major awareness campaign at regional and local levels aimed at encouraging reporting.