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GPS HAVE SEEN an increase in the number of patients experiencing domestic violence during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Irish Medical Organisation said there has been an increase in such cases in recent months and called on GPs to be vigilant in terms of identifying and supporting victims of domestic abuse.
There was a 25% increase in domestic violence calls to gardaí in April and May, when almost 5,600 incidents were disclosed.
Many victims endure up to 35 attacks before reporting the violence, and many others do not report at all.
Dr Madeleine Ní Dhalaigh, GP and IMO Committee member, said people are more likely to disclose abuse to their GP than others, and doctors should “be more vigilant than ever for possible cases”.
“GPs can play a key role in identifying possible abusive situations and supporting victims of abuse.
“Unfortunately it is becoming more and more common for GPs to have to deal with such situations in the course of their daily work, but we can make a real difference to our patients lives if we play our part and help them to deal with or escape from abusive relationships.”
Ní Dalaigh was one of several speakers at a domestic violence webinar held for IMO members this week.
High likelihood of disclosure
Lisa Marmion, Services Development Manager with Safe Ireland, said GPs are “critical frontline responders in the community for survivors of domestic violence”.
“The reported increase in patients reporting domestic violence during Covid-19 mirrors the experience of services in the communities and An Garda Siochana.”
Marmion said there is “a high likelihood of disclosure of abuse” in a GP setting, “however, it is not enough to expect survivors to disclose abuse themselves”.
She called on GPs to be proactive in terms of asking questions about abuse.
“There should also be proactive, routine and targeted enquiry about domestic abuse from doctors themselves – this means that when a GP is enquiring about an illness, an injury, recurring anxiety or depression for example, he or she knows how to ask about domestic abuse and coercive control.
“To do this, the GP must understand what coercive control is and also understand the appropriate referral pathways to specialist domestic violence services in the woman’s local area,” Marmion said.
Safe Ireland has called for more training to be provided for medical professionals in this regard.
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US getting involved in another situation that has absolutely nothing to do with them. Seems there the only country that can invade others without consequences.
@Roy Dowling: So Russia should be allowed to invade Ukraine without any repercussions? Interesting.
@Roy Dowling: You don’t think security matters that impact the NATO block borders have anything to do with the United States? Not sure you know much about anything.
@Seán Ó Briain: What repercussions did the US suffer when invading countries in the middle East? The us invades who they like and the world keeps quite?
@Seán Ó Briain: how many countries have the US invaded ?Seems like the usual suspects like UK, Nato and the EU have done a good job over the last few years to provoke there pal Vlad. Anyways I’m sure the grub is plenty full and the drinks flow long into the night at the various get-togethers.
@Will: Putin blameless I’m sure. Have a read of a book called Red Notice by Bill Browder and educate yourself as to what really goes on in the corridors of power in Russia.
@Roy Dowling: Isn’t Ukraine quite near to Nato countries? And isn’t the US something to do with Nato?
@Bill Spill: Russia itself borders NATO countries and it’s ally Belarus also borders NATO countries. Didn’t see the US having issues there. US is like a bully getting upset because another bully has started picking on weaker countries. They want to be the only bully.
@Roy Dowling: so you can’t answer the question
@Roy Dowling: So when you say they are getting involved in a situation that had absolutely nothing to do with them, what do you mean?
@Roy Dowling: you wouldn’t be speaking English now if it wasn’t for the US.
@Splat: Given that our mother tongue is Irish, would it really matter if we were speaking a language other than English now?
@Roy Dowling: Haaaaa. Putin doesn’t give a Sh11te about sanctions….
@Roy Dowling: The president begged the US to help. Stop your lazy anti-Americanism.
@Roy Dowling: ffs! One was a response to domestic terrorism that killed thousands on their soil. The other I’ll give you was to settle a score for Bush’s daddy.
@David F. Dwyer: how innocent you put it
This is all the world needs right now.
@Ciarán FitzGerald: what the world needs now, is love, sweet love
@Ciarán FitzGerald: we need. The Donald back now,!
@Martin Scaldbag: scaldbag
Don’t think Putin really worries a lot about sanctions. Already a lot of sanctions in place, has not stopped him taking parts of Georgia and the Crimea. Slap wrist threat.
@Denis K: yeah was thinking that and if he did invade he could get his mate in Belarus to come in from the North hit on 2 sides,all doe that could drag Poland in then
U S Has invaded and caused more wars than any nation …And who exploded 2 Atomic bombs
@John Mc Auley: Just curious as to where you got that information from? I’m not a supporter of or apologist for the U.S. by the way it’s just that it doesn’t seem to accord with historical fact. I’d imagine some far older European nations may be way ahead of them in that regard. Lots of countries have exploded two atomic bombs by the way. The U.S. though is obviously the only nation to use them in a war situation and the context of why they did needs to be considered.
@John Mc Auley: only 2?
Smells of Hitler invading Czechoslovakia . The west huffed and puffed then as well and we all know what happened
Join NATO Ukraine, get it over with
With Sleepy Joe at the helm Russia, China, N Korea and Iran can do whatever they want. The time has never been better to strike than with a pensioner struggling to read a tele-promt sentence at the wheel.
Mr. Putin can read between the lines. The Western alliance knows his little games and applies their own. If Russia wants a war they will get a war. The truth is this: The NATO build up is massive too. Putin is behind it. Russia wants Ukraine. Ukraine doesn’t want him! And all this nonsense with Belarus and Poland. Who do you think is behind it? Didn’t Hitler do the same? The thing is NATO can do tremendous damage to Russia as 465 nukes are aimed at every military target and at every Russian city including Moscow as the first site to highlight the power of the west! The Hitler says are gone. No tanks! No ships. Nukes and it will happen. This man Putin is playing with a deadly flame. Out he goes with his hidden 200 billion in hidden bank accounts stolen from the Russian people. He is a very presumptuous man and he will be humiliated in front of his own people.
@James Arnold: That all sounds great. But, there is an ego there that super edes everything you said. Putin will push as many buttons as he can until no more can be pushed. Then he’ll back pedal a little until the west think they have a victory. He annexed the Crimean without so much as a strongly worded email. He’ll try and reunite the old USSR states and increase the sovereign and fiscal strength of the union by whatever means possible. He is on a long mission and wont stop at a few pointing fingers from weak western leaders.
I have been studying international warfare for three years. The power of nuclear weapons are about 1,000 times greater than those bombs dropped on Japan. The old days of trenches and infantry are over. No soldiers needed at all. No planes needed either. It’s nuclear warfare. And Russia will be decimated first. All it takes is a command. The whole country is destroyed
@James Arnold: ye need to chill out on the comments guy
@James Arnold: All it takes is a command and the whole world is destroyed.
Sanctions shmanctions, sanctions are useless.
I have been studying international warfare for three years. The power of nuclear weapons are about 1,000 times greater than those bombs dropped on Japan. The old days of trenches and infantry are over. No soldiers needed at all. No planes needed either. It’s nuclear warfare. And Russia will be decimated first. All it takes is a command. The whole country destroyed all because of a little tiny man who murdered others and cared nothing for his own i.e. The Kursk for example and this little man needs to use a toilet like the rest of us. He may be loved by his own but he has successfully deceived his own. A disaster.
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