A fifth of young Irish women are abused by their husbands

Activists trying to provide support to battered women.

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Authorities in Ireland are struggling to spot the signs of an abusive relationship between couples, at a time when one in five young women is being abused by their partner, according to Women's Support.

The charity said recent discussions about male violence had highlighted that women are not only at risk of violence from strangers, but from those closest to them.

Mary Hayes, who leads the charity's To Be You awareness campaign project, said her research showed that young women demand safety in their daily lives, but the "malicious nature" of marital abuse makes it difficult to detect and intervene.

Hayes explained, “We need to build a national community cooperation that includes everyone, and everyone works together to raise awareness of abuse, to confront these behaviors and attitudes in order to understand and reduce abuse.

But also, vitally, to develop healthy, reciprocal and positive relationships, as well as respect between the two partners.”

Two surveys conducted in 2020 and last year, of 500 young men and women, found that misconceptions about abusive relationships were common, with 81% of respondents believing that alcohol and drug use caused some people to mistreat their partners.

A survey conducted by Women's Support found that one in five young women said they had experienced abuse in their marital relationship, including emotional, physical and sexual abuse.

• 81% of respondents believe that alcohol and drug abuse causes some people to mistreat their partners.

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