Domestic Abuse

Victims of domestic violence who cannot return home should be recognised in law as homeless, the Mercy Law Resource Centre (MLRC) has said in a new report. The Social Housing, Domestic Violence and the Public Sector Duty report was launched by Labour leader and legal academic Ivana Bacik at a multid

Mercy Law Resource Centre (MLRC) will next month host a conference on social housing, domestic violence and the public sector duty. The multi-disciplinary conference in Dublin's Wisdom Centre on Tuesday 5 September, 9.30am–1pm, will see academic and legal experts as well as civil society voice

Victims of domestic violence will receive their full pay for five days under the domestic violence leave scheme set to be introduced later this year, the government has announced. Domestic violence leave will be formally introduced in the autumn with the publication of regulations setting out the ra

A wide-ranging bill introducing new standalone offences of stalking and non-fatal strangulation, increasing the maximum sentence for various offences and introducing new protections for victims has completed all stages in the Oireachtas. The Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, which de

Just 14 applications for a legal aid eligibility waiver on the grounds of domestic abuse have been issued since they became available in Northern Ireland over a year ago, new figures show. The Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act (Northern Ireland) 2021, which came into force in February 2022,&n

Victims and survivors of domestic and sexual abuse are being retraumatised by having to simultaneously navigate separate criminal, family and child protection processes, according to a new report. The Report on the Intersection of the Criminal Justice, Private Family Law and Public Law Child Care Pr

Legislation creating a new statutory agency dedicated to tackling and reducing domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV) will be published this summer, the government has confirmed. The government's chief whip, Hildegarde Naughton, yesterday published the summer legislative programme contai

Children should be taught about domestic violence at school to cut offending, a Northern Ireland judge has said. Judge Barney McElholm, of Londonderry Magistrates' Court, told BBC News NI that there has been an increase in the number of domestic abuse cases coming before him.

Lawyers must continue to challenge the Northern Ireland courts to properly protect victims and survivors of domestic abuse, a prominent family lawyer has said. Claire Edgar, family law partner at Francis Hanna & Co Solicitors, was among the speakers at The Bar of Northern Ireland's recent confer

Ministers have approved the general scheme of legislation creating a new statutory agency dedicated to tackling and reducing domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV). A key responsibility of the new agency will be overseeing and supporting the provision of refuge accommodation for victims,

The Bar of Northern Ireland has called for a "whole society approach" to tackling domestic abuse at a conference marking one year since the commencement of landmark legislation. More than 200 legal and lay professionals attended the conference marking the anniversary of the Domestic Abuse and Civil

The government has ordered a review into waiting times for domestic violence orders in the District Court amid claims that vulnerable people are waiting as long as 16 weeks in parts of the State. Simon Harris confirmed in the Dáil that he had asked the Courts Service to prepare a report on th

Northern Ireland's new draft domestic and sexual abuse strategy has gone out for public consultation. The launch of the consultation by the Departments of Health and Justice coincides with Sexual Abuse & Sexual Violence Awareness Week in the UK, which aims to raise awareness of sexual abuse and

Family lawyer Claire Edgar has been appointed as chair of the Belfast Area Domestic & Sexual Violence and Abuse Partnership's protection and justice working group. The partnership brings together agencies, organisations, groups and individuals who share a common interest and purpose in improving

Government plans to combat domestic, sexual and gender-based violence will next year benefit from a record 22 per cent funding increase worth around €9 million. The Department of Justice launched its five-year "zero tolerance" strategy earlier this summer, containing 144 detailed actions to be