A Galway city refuge for victims of domestic violence has said the housing crisis is putting women and children at risk as almost 700 women and children were turned away in 2015.
Cope Galway said it was unable to accommodate 288 individual women with 405 children in 2015.
Wendy Heuston, manager of the Cope Galway Domestic Violence Refuge and Outreach service for Galway, said a lack of affordable rental accommodation is a major issue and appealed to landlords to make their properties available for rent within the current rent caps.
Ms Heuston said on International Woman’s Day it is important to celebrate positive recent improvements for women experiencing domestic violence, such as less strict criteria for accessing emergency barring orders and more information provision available through the courts on local support services.
However, she said the ongoing housing crisis is having an additional knock-on effect on women who are experiencing domestic violence.
Affordable accommodation
“This crisis is twofold in that it affects women and their children who are in refuge, who cannot move on due to lack of affordable accommodation within the rent allowance caps. This lack of spaces in turn affects women who are seeking safety from domestic abuse, who cannot access refuge,” said Ms Heuston.
“Refuge is never meant to be a long-term solution. It is there for women and their children who are in a crisis situation and need to get out of danger.
“This situation is totally unacceptable and should not be allowed to continue. It is a national as well as a local crisis, and government parties need to get around the table and give this issue the priority it deserves so that women and children can be safe today,” she said.
The refuge said it is important to celebrate positive recent improvements for women experiencing domestic violence, such as less strict criteria for accessing emergency barring orders and more information provision available through the courts on local support services.
“We are also making good progress in putting a new facility in place in Galway that, in the long term, will greatly improve domestic violence services and increase capacity,” Ms Heuston said.