Domestic Abuse

A new advocacy service for victims of sexual and domestic abuse in Northern Ireland is to be launched later this year. ASSIST NI will provide an adult service for victims who are aged 18 and above, and a separate service for children and young people who are 17 years of age and below, who are engagi

Upcoming reforms to the family courts could negatively impact victims of domestic abuse, a leading practitioner has warned as new figures reveal huge increases in applications for domestic violence orders. There was a nine per cent increase in applications for domestic violence orders in the Distric

Domestic abuse cases involving victims aged 60 and over have surged by 15 per cent, according to a recent report described as “shocking” by Independent MLA Claire Sugden. The findings were published last month in a document by the Commissioner for Older People NI, with outgoing commissio

Over 2,300 convictions have been made under landmark domestic abuse legislation since its introduction in Northern Ireland nearly three years ago, according to new figures. The Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act (Northern Ireland) 2021, which came into force in February 2022, criminalises patt

A new small grants scheme aimed at reducing domestic and sexual abuse has been launched in Northern Ireland. The new scheme, jointly launched by the justice and health departments, has been designed to support community and voluntary organisations in their essential work with victims of domestic and

Children and young people affected by sexual crime will be offered free legal advice under a new scheme in Northern Ireland. A new domestic and sexual abuse strategy and three-year action plan was jointly launched by justice minster Naomi Long and health minister Mike Nesbitt yesterday.

A new €6.5 million domestic violence refuge has been opened in Wexford.

Alleged domestic abusers should be automatically removed from their family home, the children's ombudsman has said. Dr Niall Muldoon told the Irish Independent that allegations of domestic violence should be treated similarly to allegations of sexual abuse in order to prevent women and children from

Northern Ireland's Department for the Economy is consulting on the introduction of a new right for victims of domestic abuse to access paid safe leave from work. The consultation comes more than two years after the Northern Ireland Assembly approved the Domestic Abuse (Safe Leave) Act (NI) 2022, whi

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has determined that a minimum tariff of 20 years for the premeditated murder of the late Lu Na McKinney “signalled a permissible move towards higher tariffs to reflect the horrific elements of this crime”. Delivering judgment for the Court of Appe

Specialist domestic abuse prosecutors could be introduced to help make Northern Ireland's new domestic abuse law more effective, a report has suggested. Jacqui Durkin, the chief inspector of criminal justice in Northern Ireland, yesterday published her review of how Part 1 of the Domestic Abuse and

The latest police figures indicate a small increase in the number of domestic abuse cases in Northern Ireland. In 2023, there were 33,071 such incidents, an increase of 144 or 0.4 per cent on the previous year.

A new statutory entitlement to domestic violence leave has come into effect. Under the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023, anyone experiencing or at risk of domestic violence will be entitled to take five days' leave in order to access supports. They will also be entitled to ful

Justice minister Helen McEntee and James Browne, minister of state with responsibility for law reform have welcomed the passing through the Oireachtas of legislation which will establish a statutory agency under the remit of the Department of Justice dedicated to tackling and reducing domestic,

Stalking and non-fatal strangulation have become standalone criminal offences following the commencement of a wide-ranging law which also increases the maximum sentence for various offences and introduces new protections for victims. Almost all of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act