The President has described domestic violence as a trap, which she said takes away human dignity and leaves victims distraught and wounded.
Mrs McAleese was speaking at the 20th anniversary of Europe's first purpose-built women's shelter, at Rathmines in Dublin.
Earlier it was revealed that one in three people surveyed at a GP's practice in Galway city have experienced domestic violence, with two thirds of women saying they had been affected.
Almost one in three people surveyed said they had experienced domestic violence, while 6% were currently being abused.
Three of the 18 pregnant women surveyed said they had been victims of violence, while almost one in five, 18.8%, of men said they had been victims of either social, psychological or physical abuse in the home.
Amen, the group representing male victims of domestic violence, said today it feared that number could be even higher as many men find it difficult to report abuse or to know where to turn.
