Across the country, including County Mayo, at least 2,018 women and 550 children received support from a domestic violence service each month from September to December 2020, according to a new report called 'Tracking the Shadow Pandemic – Lockdown 2'.
The report was launched this week by Safe Ireland, the national agency working with 39 frontline domestic violence member services, including Mayo Women’s Support Services. November was the busiest month of the four-month period. When Ireland was at the height of its second Level 5 lockdown, over 2,180 women and 602 children received support from a dedicated domestic violence service.
In Mayo, the report found that 53 women and 10 children on average accessed MWSS each month during this four-month period, September being the busiest month, with 64 women accessing the service. In total, 21 women and 10 children accessed MWSS for the first time during this period, with 234 support sessions over the phone and 94 in person. In total over the four months, MWSS answered 520 helpline calls and 78 helpline texts. Seven women and 11 children were accommodated in refuge. MWSS could not accommodate 12 women and 21 children. Alternative accommodation was arranged for eight women and 10 children, with the support of the housing department of Mayo County Council.
Nationally, the report shows that over 2,445 new women and 486 new children contacted a domestic violence service for the very first time in these four months. This equates to 611 new women and 122 new children every month, or 20 new women and four new children every day, who had, as far as is known, never contacted a service before.
The statistics for the latter part of 2020 were higher generally than those reported over the first six months of the pandemic. The first Safe Ireland Tracking the Shadow Pandemic report, which covered the six month period between March and August 2020, showed that at least 1,970 women and 411 children received support each month.
Bernadette Byrne, Spokesperson for Mayo Women’s Support Services, said that even in an extraordinary time of crisis, these numbers were shocking. Adequate resources and creative solutions were needed to respond to the needs of women, but also the needs of the frontline emergency professionals like those working at Mayo Women’s Support Services. She said: "Since last March, we have been working under enormous pressure to respond to those fleeing domestic abuse. This work cannot stop. It can take no breaks.
"Our message to survivors remains clear and steadfast. You do not have to live in an oppressive home. You do not have to endure abuse and control. There is professional support available right here in your community.
“However, it is also essential that our services are adequately resourced. At the moment, and as a legacy going back many years, there are significant disparities between those working in DSGBV and other social care settings. Parity and respect must be afforded to domestic violence frontline workers."
She said that multi-annual funding must be established to enable proper planning and service development, adding that technocratic processes hamper the urgent work of response and prevention of domestic violence.
The national report shows that helpline calls were also up on average over the second part of the year. Domestic violence services answered 23,336 helpline calls over the period. November was the busiest month of the period, with 6,409 calls answered – that’s 213 a day or nearly nine calls every hour.
On average, 167 women and 265 children stayed in a range of domestic violence accommodation (range of refuge, safe homes and supported housing ) each month between September and December. This is slightly down on those in accommodation over the first six months. In total, 808 requests for refuge could not be met in the four months because there was no space. In October, however, 306 requests for refuge could not be met, the highest for the tracked months of 2020.
For more information contact: Mayo Women’s Support Services on (087 ) 656 9672 / (086 ) 057 7212.
