Domestic, Sexual & Gender-Based Violence

Domestic, Sexual, and Gender-Based Violence (DSGBV) is a serious problem in Ireland. One in four women in this country are affected by domestic violence in their lifetime, while half of all women report experiencing sexual violence at some point.

Increased public awareness in recent years and the publication of the latest National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in 2022 are to be welcomed. However, the pace of change is still too slow.

Services in the sector are overstretched and underfunded, so cannot meet the ever-increasing demand.

Too often the legal system seems to work against domestic violence and abuse survivors, and the lengthy delays created by the family and criminal law infrastructure have unsafe and traumatising results.

So much more needs to be invested in prevention, protection, legislative reform, and policy co-ordination to truly transform Ireland into a country where there is zero tolerance of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

Our DSGBV Priorities

• Properly resource and implement the Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence.
• Make sustainable multi-annual funding for DSGBV services the norm.
• Commit capital funding to work towards meeting Ireland’s obligations under the Istanbul Convention.
• Establish a Commissioner on DSGBV with appropriate resources and powers to monitor the National Strategy’s implementation.
• Combat online gender-based violence, including intimate image abuse.

Find Out More

You can read more about our policies and plans in our DSGBV policy document, linked below.