FUNDING FOR victims of domestic violence must be maintained at a time when the number of women seeking help from these services has grown, an organisation that works with male perpetrators of abuse has said.
Thomas Bibby is development officer with Move Ireland, or Men Overcoming Violence, a group which works with male perpetrators of domestic abuse to challenge their behaviour.
The organisation, which has eight volunteer-led groups countrywide, also offers support to the partners of abusive men as a compulsory part of the programme.
Mr Bibby said the organisation was fearful that the headline cuts in Budget 2012 will have an impact on local funding to refuges and rape crisis centres at a time when more women than ever are seeking these services. He noted that women and children in situations of domestic violence were unable to access refuges on 3,236 occasions last year. This situation would worsen if funding for victim impact bodies was further affected.
“The demand for victim services is increasing and . . . we can see that those cuts would have an impact on domestic violence victims,” Mr Bibby said.
Move Ireland this year participated in the white ribbon campaign, a movement that encourages men to wear the ribbon as a symbol of challenging violent behaviour towards women.
“More people need to stand up and say domestic violence is unacceptable and that includes men. For there to be a lasting change there needs to be a broader challenge publicly to men who abuse,” said Mr Bibby. The question often asked in situations of domestic abuse, he said, was “why doesn’t she leave?” when we should also be asking “why doesn’t he stop?”
“Our programme is designed to get men to accept the consequences of and to challenge their behaviour,” he added.