Limerick domestic abuse charity highlights issue of ‘digital abuse’
A DOMESTIC abuse service in Limerick has received 145 calls from women looking for support since the start of the year.
That’s according to Director of Adapt, Denise Dunne, who told the Limerick Leader that the organisation received “145 calls from women looking for support around domestic abuse” since the beginning of January 2023. She stressed the number reflected is “first calls only.”
In 2022, 1,554 women reached out to Adapt's helpline, 486 women used their outreach service, and the organisation admitted 145 families to the refuge.
Speaking of their outreach services, Ms Dunne explained: “With outreach, we will meet the woman in different locations throughout the city and the county, and we will give her whatever support she needs. We’ll do a quick assessment around her safety. Then, we’ll bring her in and do an actual face-to-face assessment of her needs,” explained Ms Dunne.
She continued: “Outreach support is where we will support a woman, and give her the exact same support as if she’s in refuge, but she might still be in the relationship, or at home with the partner.”
Ms Dunne highlighted that domestic violence comes in many forms. “I think someone may think domestic abuse is physical abuse, or sexual abuse. But in fact, it’s so much more than that.”
She pointed out control plays an important part, and is used tactically by abusers when they want to isolate their victims.
“A controlling behaviour is when the woman isn’t allowed to have friends or when she doesn’t have access to her own money. She has nobody that she can actually get support from, apart from him – that’s a massive one,” she stated.
Over the last few years, Adapt’s Director has seen an increase in what she calls “digital abuse,” which has become a “huge issue.”
“What we're seeing a lot more of as well is that when women leave a relationship, straight away, all the online abuse starts. On Facebook, Snapchat, all of that.”
According to Ms Dunne, the abusers threaten to post pictures, tell stories about them online. Sometimes, they locate their victims using platforms like Snapchat.
Denise Dunne would like people to know that domestic violence affects everybody.
“We have women as young as 18 coming into our service, and we’ve had women in their 80s using the service as well. We supported women throughout every age group and every social background,” she said.
“We work very much with the woman, and it’s about what she wants to do, we won’t tell her what she has to do,” she advised.
Adapt works from a trauma informed perspective. “We recognise the trauma that the woman has been experiencing, and we collaborate with her,” said Ms Dunne.
“Some people might think others are more deserving, that someone else’s story might be worse, but that’s not the case. Anybody can pick up the phone and ring us. It’s a confidential service, available 24 hours a day,” she concluded.
Contact the Adapt helpline at 1 800 200 504.