Sir, - Some readers of your report on paramilitary "punishment" attacks in Northern Ireland (The Irish Times, June 23rd) may have the impression that such attacks only affect isolated individuals. My survey of reports of paramilitary attacks in the three Belfast-based daily newspapers from July 1st, 1998 to June 30th, 1999 showed that of the 66 assaults reported, 24 occurred in a person's home, in two-thirds of which other family members or an intimate other was present. Of the 52 shooting-to-maim incidents reported, five occurred in a person's home, in three of which a family member or an intimate other was present.
These data may under-report the wider effect of this violence, as not all assaults are recorded and some do not specify the precise location of the attack. In this form of violence, as in domestic violence and war, children and other family members are often injured. My interviews with a number of individuals show that such violence at home leads to widespread fear and psychological trauma in families. - Yours, etc.,
Dermot Feenan, University of Ulster, Newtownabbey, Co Antrim.