President Mary McAleese visits Rathmines Women's Refuge on its twentieth anniversary.
President McAleese was warmly welcomed to Europe's first purpose-built women’s refuge. She spoke about the damaging effects of domestic violence.
It takes away the human dignity.
Kathy Moore of Rathmines Women’s Refuge says they have seen an increase in women being treated in hospital for injuries received because of domestic abuse.
The level of violence has got much worse.
This is in line with results from a survey undertaken in a Galway city GP surgery, where almost one in three patients said they had been abused in their home. Six per cent revealed they were experiencing ongoing domestic abuse.
One in five men said they had experience of domestic abuse, but Amen, the national support group for male victims of domestic violence, said that figure could be higher, as many men do not know where to turn to for help, or how to report domestic abuse.
Organisations supporting all victims of domestic violence emphasised the importance of the provision of information. People need to know their rights, and
They need to have somebody they can safely tell their story to.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 10 January 2001. The reporter is Sinéad Crowley.
