Ireland has changed the original legal definition of domestic abuse and expanded it to include emotional and psychological abuse. According to The Hill “the act defines “coercive control” as a type of manipulation in intimidating relationships that strips away a person’s feeling of self-worth and agency” and has entered into force on January 1st 2019. The Minister for Justice and Equality Charlie Flanagan’s office issued a statement referred to by The Hill:

“This is psychological abuse in an intimate relationship that causes fear of violence, or serious alarm or distress that has a substantial adverse impact on a person’s day-to-day activities. The new offence of coercive control recognises that the effect of non-violent control in an intimate relationship can be as harmful to victims as physical abuse because it is an abuse of the unique trust associated with an intimate relationship. This new provision sends a message that society will no longer tolerate the appalling breach of trust committed by one partner against the other in an intimate context.”

Margaret Martin, the director of Women’s Aid, reacted to this in a statement for The Hill:

“This change will make a significant difference to the safety of younger women. We also welcome the move to prevent abusers to communicate electronically with their victims, a step in the right direction to address the digital abuse and online harassment of women by partners and exes.”  She emphasized it is essential for law enforcement to start quickly applying the new laws in the new year.

Childhub

You might like..

0
2
Irish Times published the letter of Tanya Ward, The Children’s Rights Alliance Chief executive welcoming the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone’s call for the ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the UN Convention…
0
71
The Children’s Rights Alliance Ireland gathered experts and decision-makers from both European and national levels for a webinar on Implementing the European Child Guarantee in Ireland. Eurochild supported this event to ensure timeline…
0
13
The Hungarian language Romanian online portal quotes Andrea Csép MEP: "Building a network of safe houses is a huge step in getting the victims of domestic violence to get help and reach self-sufficiency in difficult times," and added that it would…
0
20
Last year, in mid-December, the Irish Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr Katherine Zappone, stated that ‘after too many years of indifference, we are finally seeing a rise of awareness on child poverty’. Comments like this from Ireland’s…
0
4
The Government of Ireland will accept five unaccompanied child migrants who have been rescued from the Mediterranean. The rescue ships arrived to Malta weeks ago but were refused permission to access ports, leaving around 50 refugees including women…
0
40
The OFFNews website shared that a Legal Clinic where victims of domestic violence will be able to receive adequate assistance from competent lawyers is opening in Sofia, Bulgaria. Another crisis centre on the territory of the capital was also…
0
2
The population of Ireland is becoming increasingly diverse and this is reflected in the classrooms as well, with more pupils coming from a different background. The situation is different when it comes to teaching staff, since foreign-trained…
0
3
Children`s  Rights Allinace published the eleventh Report Card and the third under A Programme for a Partnership Government, assessing if the government of Ireland is keping its promises to children. The Irish Government is awarded an…
0
6
Eurochild’s national partner network in Ireland, the Children’s Rights Alliance, published a report outlining the mental health and educational needs of refugee children in Ireland.  The report, ‘Safe Haven: A Study on the Needs of Refugee…
0
5
Ireland’s Minister of Communications has announced a new bill which would establish an Online Safety Commissioner. The main purpose of the Commissioner is to protect children from toxic behaviours (cyber bullying, which has lead to child suicide)…
0
238
A study of drug dealing and organised crime in Ireland has found that children as young as 12 are being lured into gangs. The report, 'Building Community Resilience - a response to criminal networks', focuses on Irish criminal…
0
10
In Ireland, a 17-year-old girl, Suaad, who is a refugee from Syria, received a scholarship to further her studies due to her excellent grades.  Suaad will study medicine and become a doctor one day, which has been her dream…
0
16
No Child 2020 is a project of The Children's Rights Alliance, Eurochild Irish member, and The Irish Times aiming to address the fact Ireland the fastest growing economy in the Eurozone, while at the same time a country with the highest child…
0
12
The Irish Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) is one of the EU's leading regulatory authorities responsible for protecting the privacy of individuals on the Internet. They also have the power to impose heavy fines (2018). DPC is investigating whether…
0
38
The Irish state police child protection service found a Dublin girl with skin infections living in inhumane conditions and rushed her to hospital, publishes the Child Care Law Reporting Project (CCLRP). This case, along with 48 more,…