There was a a fourfold increase in emergency calls from domestic abuse survivors in 2021

RTÉ Investigates – Domestic Abuse, A Year Of Crisis

Laura Fitzgerald writes:

The last 12 months has seen a fourfold increase in emergency calls from domestic abuse survivors. During that time RTÉ Investigates filmed in several refuges across the country as the services reached crisis point.

Having given RTÉ Investigates unprecedented access, staff describe their daily struggle to keep sufferers safe, because a shortage in refuge places means they are forced to live with their abusers. From coercive control, repeated patterns of domestic violence, femicide and the traumatic journey through the justice system, the documentary reveals the human stories behind the statistics.

Last year, the number of people that contacted the domestic violence support services increased by 40% from the previous year, in some cases as a direct result of Covid-19 restrictions.

RTÉ Investigates – Domestic Abuse, A Year Of Crisis tonight at 9.35pm on RTÉ One and RTE Player.

Illustration via RTE