Weekend access to barring orders will prove a crucial step in tackling domestic violence in Ireland, Women’s Aid has claimed. It said there was now urgent need for legal reform in the area.
Women’s Aid director Margaret Martin said there was also a need for women who are not married to their partners or living with them to receive fuller legal assistance.
Ms Martin was speaking at an event to publicise the group’s One in Five Women awareness programme at Leinster House, Dublin, yesterday. The initiative is part of a global 16 Days of Action Opposing Violence against Women, which begins on Sunday with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
“Many thousands of women avail of legal protection every day in this country but there is still a significant number who cannot because they are not considered under the current arrangements,” she said.
The organisation recently commissioned research on international best practice and maintains there is a serious need for a 24-hour, emergency service for barring orders.
