THE story of how a woman came to recognise she had to leave her abusive husband and is now about to get a divorce; appeals for support for refuges for abused women and children; stating the need to tackle the subordinate position of women in church and society in order to eradicate the roots of violence these all feature, not in a Women's Aid publication, but in the latest document from the Conference of Religious in Ireland, When Home is Where the Hurt is.
The strategy document on domestic violence was produced by the Northern Commission of CORI, with the help of the National Board of Catholic Women and the Northern Ireland Women's Aid Federation.
It is intended as a resource for the churches in tackling the problem of the abuse of women.
In a covering letter with the document, the Archbishop of Armagh, Dr Sean Brady, says: "We live in a culture of violence. Domestic violence is now a serious social evil. . . We must all try to build a future that is free from violence. Tackling violent relationships and the root causes of them is a good way to start."
The document gives statistics for domestic violence in Northern Ireland. It also stresses the attention Jesus gave to women in the Gospels, and the importance of the Church listening to them and ending their marginalisation within it.
"Christianity's frequent stress on the importance of suffering and sacrifice in Christian life can be used to minimise and deny the suffering of victims of domestic violence," it warns.
"It is true that saints have sometimes united their suffering with the crucified Christ in freely chosen acts of witness.
"However, there is nothing heroic about enduring beating and brutal torture from a partner year after year."
It urges priests and other religious to name domestic violence as a sin, and to use as many occasions as possible to preach this in homilies.