The "pervasive and insidious" nature of violence against women and children is still a "core problem" in Irish society, a Fine Gael MEP, Ms Mary Banotti, said in Galway this week.
Marking the 21st anniversary of the city's refuge for victims of domestic violence, Ms Banotti said that the frequency of such incidents appeared to be increasing, but there was also greater recognition of the issue today.
While men could also be victims of domestic violence, "the problem is by no means the same", she said. "Thirty years of worldwide research shows that men are predominantly the perpetrators, and women the victims.
"Services must be available to everyone who needs them, but we must not be lulled into a false sense of the problem as in some way having an equal impact on men and women. The investment in services must mirror the reality of needs."
Ms Banotti was one of a group involved in opening the first refuge for women and children in Dublin in 1974, with no State funding. Recalling that period, she remembered the response of a government minister who was asked for financial support.
"Why can't they go home to their mothers like they always did?" the minister, who she did not identify, had commented.
Services like Waterside House in Galway offered "both a lifeline and potential point of renewal" for women and children, Ms Banotti said at the refuge's anniversary function, held in NUI Galway.
While barring orders now extended to co-habiting couples, and the new Safety Order offered increased protection to family members, it was still extremely difficult for women to leave a violent relationship, she said.
Waterside Women's Refuge, managed by Ms Wendy Heuston, is funded jointly by the Western Health Board, Galway City Council and voluntary donations. It offers a 24-hour, year-round service, where up to six women and 15 children can be accommodated. It has recorded 2,517 admissions of women, and 4,652 childrensince 1981.
Attending the function, which included a poetry reading by Ms Rita Ann Higgins, were several women who had used the refuge.
The refuge also offers an outreach service which provides support and information to women who do not wish to or cannot access refuge accommodation.
This service is also establishing links with a new domestic violence network being set up under community development support programmes in the western region.
The State-funded community development support programmes extend from Gort in south Galway to Erris and Moygownagh in north Mayo, and are part of an anti-poverty initiative funded under the National Development Plan.
A code of practice on domestic violence, published last month, is expected to raise awareness of services available.
