Ms Margaret Martin:

Women’s Aid welcomes the opportunity to present today on the review of domestic violence legislation. Our submission, which makes 12 recommendations, deals with three main areas where we believe change is needed. These are the extension of eligibility for barring orders under the Domestic Violence Act and the introduction of emergency barring orders when courts are not sitting; measures to address the safety and welfare of children with regard to custody and access in the context of domestic violence; and the limitations of stalking legislation.

Domestic violence is a 24-seven crime which primarily happens in the home, and therefore access to protection needs to be available 24-seven. However, this is not the case at present. I will give the example of Sarah, who was badly assaulted at home by her husband on a Friday night and called the Garda. The gardaí were very helpful and called an ambulance but said there was little they could do as no barring order was in place, and suggested she go to court as soon as possible, which was the following Monday morning. When she was discharged from hospital Sarah telephoned the Women’s Aid helpline as she was afraid to go home. There was no refuge space available and, as her husband had threatened to burn down her parents' house or sister’s house if she went to either place, she felt she had no option but to sleep in her car until the courts opened on Monday morning.

If the gardaí responding to Sarah that Friday evening had been able to apply for an emergency barring order to cover the weekend Sarah could have remained in her own home before going to court. If she had children this would have been far more serious. As has been outlined, domestic violence is a very common context in which child abuse takes place and it has been found that the more severe the domestic violence, the more severe the child abuse will be.

Our submission includes four recommendations dealing with issues where parents separate because of domestic violence and where provision needs to be made to ensure children's safety and well being, especially in respect of access. I am happy to answer questions on these recommendations if time allows.

Since our first statistics report in 2003, thousands of callers to our freefone national helpline have confirmed that stalking is a serious form of abuse for Irish women. It happened before the advent of new technology and, while new technology has added to the repertoire of tactics available to an abuser, physical stalking continues to be a serious concern, carrying with it the threat of imminent harm. Stalking by ex-partners accounts for the largest group of victims, with the stalking beginning before separation takes place in up to half of all cases.

Niamh, who is 19 years of age, went out with Sean for a few months last year, but split up because he was "too intense and clingy". He has not left her in peace since. He always seems to be at the corner of her road when she leaves her house no matter what time it is and he follows her much of the time. He calls and texts her almost every day. After he bad-mouthed her on Facebook, she went to the Garda and was informed that it could not do anything until he made more serious threats or actually harmed her. She was deeply shocked at this, as she is extremely frightened. She does not go out any more than she has to. As such, she has lost her freedom as well as her peace of mind.

Stalking often escalates after separation and is linked to the abuser wanting to control a partner or ex-partner, isolate her and restrict her movements. Abusers use multiple methods to stalk and monitor women. In our experience, the current definition of harassment is complex and hard to prove and, therefore, is rarely used to protect women. I am referring to the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act. We recommend that a specific offence of stalking be introduced and that it be recognised as a ground for a safety order.

As Mr. Killoran pointed out, Women's Aid is a member of the Domestic Violence Coalition. Approximately 30% of women who use our services for the first time are migrants. We strongly support the call to recognise domestic violence in immigration law and the need for the Istanbul convention. I thank the committee for its time.