Many pregnant women keep quiet about domestic violence because they fear their children will be taken away.
A pioneering partnership between Women's Aid and four leading maternity hospitals has spent three-and-a-half years building a system of one-to-one support for mothers under pressure.
“We’re really proud at Women’s Aid to be launching the findings of an innovative, collaborative project we’ve been doing with the three Dublin maternity hospitals and Cork University Maternity Hospital,” Women’s Aid CEO Sarah Benson said.
“To try and extend the level of responsiveness and compliance of health professionals and improve the safety network and support that women receive.”
A woman with a pregnancy test. Picture by: Alamy.com Maternity staff have also undergone training to recognise barriers like 'coercive control' which stops women from reaching out.
“Women have a range of fears and barriers to disclosing [domestic abuse] - particularly during pregnancy,” Ms Benson said.
“They’re obviously fearful of what will happen with respect to their abuser but they’re also fearful of what will happen to their baby or their other children.
“So, building trust and creating opportunities for supportive interventions throughout a woman’s maternity journey are really, really crucial.”
Since dedicated one-to-one support services have been set up in the three Dublin hospitals, 379 women have received ‘same day’ support.
“My outreach and medical social workers supported me throughout my pregnancy, which was a really hard time, emotionally and physically,” one victim said.
“The outreach worker supported me to apply for a domestic violence order and accompanied me to court. She helped me to get a solicitor [and] I got the order.
“Despite everything, I had a healthy baby boy and although I am still dealing with the ongoing abuse from my husband, I feel stronger, and I know the shame is not mine.”
Anyone who has been impacted by domestic abuse can call Women’s Aid on 01 678 8858 24 hours a day.
Main image: A woman holding her pregnant belly. Picture by: Tetra Images, LLC / Alamy
