The first branch of an independent, EU-wide watchdog body to help combat violence against women was inaugurated yesterday in Dublin. It is part of a network of 15 national organisations in the EU which will lobby governments and influence European policy.
A key task of the Irish branch of the European Observatory on Violence against Women will be to produce a national report. Figures here show a 160 per cent increase in recorded incidents of domestic violence between 1997 and 2000.
In 1997, 4,184 incidents were recorded, compared to 10,877 in 2000. However, the number of recorded indictable offences has declined from 90,875 in 1997 to 73,876 in 2000, according to Garda figures. These show that in 2000, 89 per cent of offenders were male.
A report by the Courts Service in 2000 showed 4,586 applications for barring orders, 2,307 applications for safety orders and 4,256 applications for protection orders.
The Irish branch is the first of the network to start, and yesterday's announcement was made by the Minister of State for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Ms Mary Wallace.
Ms Wallace said research showed that one in five women in Europe experience violence in a relationship at some time.
She said "domestic violence, rape, sexual assault and other forms of violence against women" occur in every EU state. "Violence against women is not confined to any race or culture. It knows no economic and social boundaries. It happens to women of all ages" and in "both urban and rural areas".