This article is from page 2 of the 2008-02-12 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
has obtained the
figures in the wake of Garda statistics
last week which stressed that domes-
tic violence incidents in the county had soared over the past two years.
Some 76 people attended Clare
Haven drop-in centres in Ennis, Kil- rush, Shannon, Scariff and Ennisty- mon for the first time last year. While most of those were in Ennis, several new cases presented throughout the county.
The need for the service in Shan- non, in particular, increased sig- nificantly last year. In response prompted Clare Haven increased its presence in its outreach centre there. Some 106 people were seen at the Shannon centre, the majority of them being ongoing clients. Some 58 peo- ple attended the Kilrush centre, 19 attended in Ennistymon, while 23 at- tended the Scariff centre.
Clare Haven accompanied 104
women to court last year. Each of those cases took an average of 25 hours preparation, support and ac- companiment. The centre also pro- vided telephone support to hundreds of women in need.
Eileen Murphy of Clare Haven said there had been a huge increase in de- mand for support over the past few years. The refuge, which has six fam- ily units, was full throughout 2007. Staff had to send women to other ref- uges throughout the country.
She said that victims of domestic abuse were more willing to come forward than in the past but a lack of awareness about the availability of support remained. The need for the
Support was obvious throughout the year.
“During the past two years, there has been demand right across the year. Previously, Easter, St Patrick’s Day and Christmas were the main times but now it is right across the board,’ said Ms Murphy.
She stressed that those in need of help should not feel that they had to attend Clare Haven on a residential basis. The drop-in centre is available to those who wish to check their op- tions.
Anyone suffering domestic vio- lence should contact Clare Haven’s 24-hour helpline on 065 6822435 or check out www.clarehaven.ie.