A volunteer led community-based organisation has been established in Co Wicklow to help tackle domestic abuse in the county.
Wicklow Safe Haven has said it will support the outreach arm of Bray Women's Refuge, called Anu, which helps victims and survivors of abuse to rebuild their lives.
In 2023, the refuge and outreach service provided support to 407 people experiencing domestic abuse - 354 of whom were women and 53 were men.
There was a 9% increase in the number of domestic abuse cases reported to An Garda Síochána nationally last year, according to the Garda National Protective Services Bureau, bringing the total to 61,000.
In Co Wicklow, 599 people applied for a domestic abuse order in 2023, up from 527 in 2022.
During the first nine months of last year, 408 people sought protective orders in the county.
The number of domestic abuse orders sought in Wicklow town between 2022 and 2023 rose from 90 to 145.
During the same years, there was a 5.9% increase in Bray, while Arklow District Court recorded a 1.7% decrease.
Chairman of Wicklow Safe Haven Paul Hennessy has stressed the need to break the silence around this type of abuse.
He said there was no excuse for physical, sexual, emotional, digital or financial abuse or coercive control.
Wicklow Safe Haven has said it will begin fundraising to support Bray Women's Refuge and Anu and has asked other community groups across Co Wicklow to do the same.
