Domestic Violence in Ireland: an Overview of National Strategic Policy and Relevant International Literature on Prevention and Intervention Initiatives in Service Provision
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2008-02Author
Kearns, Noreen
Coen, Liam
Canavan, John
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Abstract
Introduction
In order to address the problem of domestic violence from a strategic and evidence based perspective it is necessary to have a broad understanding of the current national
and international policy and practice initiatives relating to this issue. In developing
strategies to guide future service planning and provision it is important to be
cognisant of contemporary findings from academic and practice arenas and
incorporate key learning into service development at the strategic and front-line
levels. Therefore, the purpose of this document is two-fold:
(i) to provide a detailed account of the Irish legislative and institutional context in
which those planning for, and providing services to, victims and perpetrators of
domestic violence operate; and
(ii) to present a conceptualisation of domestic violence as a means of understanding
its causes, consequences, and prevention and intervention strategies based on a review
of international literature. In particular, the role of the health services and health
professionals in developing and implementing such strategies is outlined and
discussed.
It is envisaged that the in-depth nature of this review, taking into account current
policy and practice trends and developments, both nationally and internationally, will
provide strategic direction to those responsible in the HSE for developing and
providing domestic violence services. More specifically, the objectives of this review
are:
(a) To inform HSE service providers on the current strategic policy regarding
domestic violence in Ireland;
(b) To contribute to operational policy and planning regarding domestic violence
service provision in the health and social services;
(c)To facilitate HSE management and health and social service professionals in the
development and enhancement of prevention and intervention initiatives regarding
domestic violence.
The document is divided into three sections. The first section provides a summary of
the Irish policy context relating to domestic violence. In particular, it examines the
following themes:
- Definitions of domestic violence in use in Ireland;
- The extent of domestic violence in Ireland;
- Major policy and legislative initiatives in place to address domestic violence;5
- A brief account of statutory and voluntary service provision to victims of
domestic violence.
The second section details key points of learning extracted from a search of
international theoretical and evidence-based literature. It describes the key findings
from the international literature on the prevention and intervention of domestic
violence in developed countries. The literature was sourced through extensive library
searches using electronic databases including: Academic and Business Source
Premier (EBSCO), JSTOR, Zetoc, Web of Science (ISI), and ScienceDirect
(Elsevier). The Google Scholar web based search engine was also used. Some of the
main areas covered in this section include:
- The extent of health outcomes for women and children resulting from
domestic violence;
- Conceptual frameworks regarding the problem of domestic violence;
- Universal and targeted strategies utilised to address both victims and
perpetrators of domestic violence;
- The role of health professionals in addressing domestic violence;
- The Criminal Justice approach and interventions;
- Evaluative work relating to domestic violence prevention and intervention
strategies.
The third section concludes with a brief overview of the strategic policy context of
domestic violence. A series of high-level strategic points emanating from sections 1
and 2 are then summarised. Nine core principles are then outlined from the relevant
literature, as a normative guide to those working in the highly sensitive area of
domestic violence. The frameworks with which to address the problem, namely the
public health approach, the ecological model, and the three prevention levels are then
reiterated. Based on these an action model for domestic violence service provision is
outlined.
This report was drafted and initially circulated to the HSE National Strategy Group on
Domestic Violence for comment and opinion. As a result, the third section of the
report was redrafted as outlined above in partnership with the strategy group, based on
their desire for translating the key findings of the report into a framework for practice.