Violet-Anne Wynne
Question:8. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Justice her views on a report (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44145/23]
View answerWednesday, 11 October 2023
Questions (8)
Written answers
I was honoured to contribute to the launch of the Women’s Aid Impact Report 2022 earlier this year.
There is no doubt that its content makes for stark and difficult reading.
Last year Women’s Aid received 33,000 disclosures of domestic abuse of women and children, including more than 1,000 cases of sexual abuse.
The report notes that four out of five women who contacted Women’s Aid were abused by a current or former male intimate partner. This data, which finds people are most likely to suffer at the hands of someone they know, tallies with the findings of the valuable Sexual Violence Prevalence Survey published by the CSO in phases throughout this year.
These figures tell two stories.
They demonstrate the scale of the continuing challenge Ireland faces in addressing the causes of abuse against women with a view to ending this epidemic.
But also, more positively, they show those who have suffered violence are more and more open to seeking support.
Sadly, we know these contacts only represent the tip of the iceberg. There are still too many people trapped in traumatic situations.
This Government is committed to tackling all forms of domestic, sexual and gender based violence and last year we published our ambitious Zero Tolerance Plan.
In addition to the sexual violence prevalence survey undertaken, we have committed to undertaking a a national domestic violence prevalence survey and to repeat both at regular intervals to underpin and inform policy on an ongoing basis.
This will not only illustrate the scale of the challenge we face and help us respond appropriately, it will also, over time, help us assess the impact of the Zero Tolerance Strategy and of the forthcoming Domestic Sexual Gender Based Violence Agency which will be established early next year.
I am delighted that I have secured a €12 million increase in funding for combatting DSGBV under Budget 2024. This will give the agency a core budget of €43m next year which will increase nationwide coverage of supports and services, and support the implementing our ambitious national strategy.
Question No. 9 answered orally.