‘We see things as getting worse and not better’ - Meath Women's Refuge

In the immediate aftermath of the tragic death of Offaly woman Ashling Murphy in January 2022, shocked communities across Ireland organised vigils, memorials and protests calling for the end of gender-based violence.

However, by the close of 2022, 11 women had died violently, making it the worst year for murders of women in over a decade.

“It's been a very difficult year given the number of women murdered in 2022”, said Sinead Smyth of Meath Women’s Refuge & Support Services. There were two women murdered in Meath. We’re very concerned about the escalating numbers. We see things as getting worse and not better. It’s also very concerning to see so many women are murdered in their own homes, which is a place that should be safe for women. The murder of Ashling Murphy really sparked people’s concern, especially with the random nature of it.”

According to Sinead cases of abuse are on the rise and more funding is needed to tackle it. We are concerned about the level of violence that we are seeing in our work and the level of domestic violence both in Ireland and across Europe. We are also seeing increased levels of violence but also other forms such as cyber and financial abuse against women.

It’s important that organisations and front-line services are supported to meet the demands. We thought that there would be less demand post Covid for services but we haven’t seen that reduction.”

"In 2021 we couldn’t accommodate 242 women, compared to 121 in 2020, because our refuge spaces were full.

We don’t see any let up in demand for. But we do see that domestic violence has changed. We see more financial abuse, more issues sound stalking and cyber abuse. We’ll have to be geared up to help people with newer forms of abuse.”

Sinead says that recent campaigns have led to more people using their services.

"The Government has run more campaigns on the radio and TV to make people more aware of us, which has led to more women coming to us. There are ads that show people that women have a place to go which is really positive because it shows there is support out there, but the services need to be able to match this demand."

Sinead says that support from Helen McEntee in her role as Justice Minister has been vital for gaining new funding for the refuge, but more need to be done to ensure there is enough services nationwide.

“Helen McEntee has shown great commitment in developing a new strategy and has allocated an additional €6.8m for service to gear up for increased demand. The worry is that refuge space isn’t available for people who needed it. We have about one-third of the refuge space we need in Meath. The council of Europe recommends one space for every 10,000 people. Ireland has 121 spaces. The council of Europe recommends we have 450 nationally.”

Sinead also maintains that there has been a change in how society views domestic abuse in Ireland over the last decade, which has led to more awareness of the issue.

“Traditionally it was seen as a private issue between two adults. It’s an issue for society, it’s your neighbour, your sister, your friend. We are all affected by it. In order to stop and prevent gender-basedviolence, we have to change the conversation about it.

There has been a cultural shift and it is realised now that everyone has a role to play in creating a society with zero tolerance.”

This is leading to more funding, but Sinead says more is needed.

"Attitudes are changing but we have a lot to do to help preserve services that help with domestic violence services that are under-resourced. The Government is realising they will have to invest a huge amount in them.

There are 69 organisations that work with sexual and domestic violence. So funding has to be divided by 69. We probably need close to €20m. We need to change the way we work for newer issues like cyber abuse, and stalking for IT, to create online campaigns. It’s separate from the building budget, which deals with building new refuges."