Patrick Costello
Question:
1106. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice for a breakdown, in tabular form, of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence offences data for the past ten years, broken down by Garda station, to include, but not limited to: coercive control; breach of interim barring order; breach of protection order; breach of barring order; breach of safety order; domestic - no offence identified; breach of emergency barring order; and any incident type with a recorded motive of 'domestic abuse'; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37545/23]
View answer
I have sought the information requested by the Deputy from the Garda authorities, however, the information was not available in time. I will write to the Deputy once the information is to hand.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 51.
I refer to your Parliamentary Question 1106 of 10 September, 2023 requesting information in relation to a breakdown, in tabular form, of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence offences data for the past ten years, broken down by Garda station, to include, but not limited to: coercive control; breach of interim barring order; breach of protection order; breach of barring order; breach of safety order; domestic - no offence identified; breach of emergency barring order; and any incident type with a recorded motive of 'domestic abuse'. You will recall that I undertook to forward any relevant information to you when it was to hand.
Tackling domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and supporting vulnerable victims are priorities for Government, the Department of Justice, and the Garda Commissioner.
It is recognised that, historically, people may not have felt able to come forward to report such violence, for fear of retribution or because they did not have confidence that the system would support and protect them.
An Garda Síochána and my Department are working hard to strengthen trust and confidence in the criminal justice system so that victims feel empowered to come forward.
My Department has also worked with criminal justice agencies and civil society frontline partners on national awareness raising campaigns and to co-design our most ambitious domestic, sexual and gender based violence strategy.
Gardaí now have Divisional Protective Services Units in each division, so specialised teams nationwide follow up with vulnerable victims in these most difficult cases.
The offence of coercive control was introduced in section 39 of the Domestic Violence Act 2018. Creating a specific offence of coercive control sent a clear, consistent message that non-violent control in an intimate relationship is criminal.
The prosecutions and convictions to date for this offence will hopefully encourage anyone who may be a victim of this crime to come forward and seek help. For those who perpetrate this crime, the message is also clear – you cannot act with impunity. It is hoped that as more convictions follow, other victims of coercive control will feel confident to come forward.
As part of delivering on the commitments under the Third National Strategy, I am further strengthening the law to combat all forms of domestic, sexual and gender based violence. Recently, I brought forward legislation which includes increasing the penalties for assault causing harm, introducing the standalone offence of non-fatal strangulation and I am progressing a new Sexual Offences Bill which will, among other things, better support victims.
Work also continues to implement Supporting a Victim’s Journey, to reform the criminal justice system at every point a victim comes into contact with it.
On foot of your question, I contacted An Garda Síochána (AGS) to seek the specific information requested, which is presented in the table below.
To determine the number of Domestic Abuse incidents reported in a given timeframe a number of criteria are applied. The counts in the table below are a combination of the following:
The incident type is one of:
Coercive Control
Breach of Interim Barring Order
Breach of Protection Order
Breach of Barring Order
Breach of Safety Order
Domestic - No Offence Identified
Breach of Emergency Barring Order
Or is of any incident type, but with a recorded motive of ‘Domestic Abuse’.
Counts of incidents reported per year are given in the table attached.
