Case Studies
Catherine is a wheelchair user and reliant on her husband financially and as her carer.
He has threatened to have her institutionalised if she attempts to leave the relationship and has also threatened to leave the country with their two children.
Sarah is a deaf woman who has been in contact with Women's Aid for some time.
She would like to go for counselling to help her to deal with the impact of her partner's abuse. However, this would mean paying to access the service through a trained interpreter, and she does not have the money.
Áine experienced years of abuse at the hands of her partner and as a result developed a mental illness. She also lost custody of her daughter.She contacted Legal Aid to seek representation in court to try to regain custody but was told that she first had to get a detailed psychiatric report to say that she was "fit to instruct". Áine cannot afford to pay for the report and nor will her health board pay for it.