Bill published to provide for domestic homicide reviews
A Bill to provide for the establishment of domestic homicide reviews has been published by Fianna Fáil today,
The Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill 2019 was published by Jim O’Callaghan and launched with Fiona O’Loughlin and Lorraine Clifford Lee.
Under the legislation, reviews into domestic homicides will be facilitated, and it will allow the Justice Minister to order a review following the death of a person which appears to have resulted from violence, abuse or neglect by a relative, partner or person with whom the deceased was in an intimate relationship.
“It is a sad reality that 1 in 4 of all violent crimes reported internationally involves a man assaulting his wife or partner," said Mr O'Callaghan.
"All international research consistently shows that a woman is more likely to be assaulted, injured, raped or killed by a current or former partner than by any other person.
“Regrettably, we know that is the case in this country when it comes to the murder of women. Since 1996, almost two thirds of women who have died violently in this country were killed in their own homes," he said.
Ms O’Loughlin said: “Domestic homicide reviews could form a small but important part of Ireland’s response to dealing with this horrendous situation.
We know from the UK experience that the use of domestic homicide reviews has identified a number of areas where support services could be improved.
Ms Clifford Lee said she is hopeful that the Bill will progress through the Dáil and Seanad.
“Previous reviews identified a number of measures which could be taken to reduce the number of women and men whose lives are lost as a result of domestic violence," she said.
"Measures such as improved inter-agency communication, training; and the provision of guidelines are needed to provide a tangible approach to addressing this very distressing issue."
