Victim: Judge knew my husband's family, nothing was done about assault

The Irish justice system treats the victims of domestic violence as a nuisance rather than a crime, a new report has claimed.

Victim: Judge knew my husband's family, nothing was done about assault

The Irish justice system treats the victims of domestic violence as a nuisance rather than a crime, a new report has claimed.

SAFE Ireland has looked at the experiences of 13 women, and found allegations of domestic violence were not fully investigated, and breaches of safety and barring orders were not punished.

Mother of three Ruth, from Dublin, describes the defining moment for her, when she knew she had to leave her partner of 10 years, who repeatedly threatened to kill her.

She said: "The violence got so bad, I was six weeks pregnant and he assaulted me in front of my two daughters.

"I just remember the screams that night and running out onto the street and the neighbours picking me up off the ground.

She says she got a barring order successfully, but the legal system completely ignored the assaults.

She said: "I found that the judge on the day happened to know his family and I never heard again.

"So there are pictures of me in a court somewhere with bruises and nothing has ever been done about it. I never had justice in relation to this."

The SAFE Ireland report looked at the experiences of 13 women who had been through rape, assault, attempted murder, child abuse, murder of an unborn child, false imprisonment and stalking.

None of the men responsible for violence against the 13 were ever prosecuted for their crimes.

Solicitor Simone George, who carried out the research, said: "When they met solicitors, barristers, the court system - the procedures that were in place, they largely failed.

"That never had anything to do with the violence or the abuse they suffered, but largely had to do with who they were and how they came across."

The report says the legal system overall is failing women living with violence and abuse, and it makes 34 recommendations to improve it.

The CEO of SAFE Ireland, Sharon O’Halloran, says some changes need to happen now.

She said: "We do need to establish a civil and criminal law definition of domestic violence, which includes coercive control.

"We need to introduce risk assessment systems so that violent behaviour can be recognised; we need to make the criminal justice system more accessible to women by protecting their identity.

"We could very easily remove the existing fee for legal aid for victims of domestic violence."

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