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A DOMESTIC ABUSE charity has said that a substantial sentence given to a man convicted of the coercive control of his former partner “acknowledged the severity of the crime and its life-denying impact on victims”.
Earlier today at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Daniel Kane (52) was sentenced to ten-and-a-half years in prison for the coercive control of his former partner.
This is the State’s first coercive control conviction following a trial.
During a 20-month relationship, Kane was found guilty of repeatedly attacking the woman, including burning her foot, cutting her with a pizza slicer, headbutting her in the face while she was recovering from nasal surgery and stamping on her arm causing her multiple fractures.
On another occasion he stamped on her head and strangled her, leaving finger marks along her throat. After being charged with these attacks Kane threatened to send explicit images of the victim to her family if she did not withdraw the charges.
In her victim impact statement the woman told the court she “might be dead or in a vegetative state” if doctors and gardaí had not intervened to get her away from Kane.
The CEO of Safe Ireland Mary McDermott said that the deep drivers of these behaviours rest on “toxic gender expectations and entitlements”, shown in this case by the fact that the perpetrator “showed no remorse or sense of profound wrong-doing”.
“This sentence is a shot across the bow to all abusers,” she said.
It tells them very clearly that they can no longer control, stalk, assault, isolate or degrade a woman with impunity. What was once secret and privatised, is now public.
In cases of domestic abuse, perpetrators often seek to keep things private and secret in order to continue the abuse.
“In Ireland, the coercion and assault of any human being is a crime. Living in a ‘lockdown time’ we are gaining ever greater understandings of these household traumas and imprisonment.
“We believe it sends a strong message to women who are experiencing abuse and control, to those around them, and to their communities, to speak openly.
You do not have to live in an oppressive household. We are learning to name these situations accurately. You will be supported and believed. Our judicial system recognises this crime as an extremely serious threat to the life and well-being of women.
Sarah Benson, CEO of Women’s Aid also gave her reaction to today’s sentence.
“Coercive control is an insidious and harmful form of abuse.
Imagine if you had to explain every minute of your day spent outside the house. Explain what you are wearing and defend your decision making. If your phone bill was checked, and you had to account for every call. If you had to ask your partner for money to buy for food for your children. If you were afraid of your partner’s violent outbursts. If money for tampons was called an ‘extra’. If friends and family were made to feel so unwelcome they stopped calling by.
Both Benson and McDermott commended the woman for her courage in pursuing this case, despite coercion to drop charges.
Benson said: “We thank the woman at the centre of the case for her resolve throughout this process and wish her only happiness in life. Her actions, in the face of unimaginable intimidation and terror, will act as an example to other women currently trapped with abusive partners.”
McDermott also commended An Garda Síochána for their investigative work in ensuring “robust” evidence so that this case could be brought forward by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The woman at the centre of today’s court case encouraged other victims of domestic violence to seek help from services such as Women’s Aid and said they would be heard.
If you need help, support is available:
If you have been affected by domestic abuse and would like to talk, contact the below numbers or visit SafeIreland.ie.
With reporting from Brion Hoban.
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They are in a mess over there . The virus is on the rise again. What we don’t need now is a load of holidaymakers from the UK after all we have sacrificed as a nation over the past 3 to 4 months.
@Finnster: Unfortunately it will be back to square one when projected uk flights resume, hard to avoid or control
@Finnster: a few hen and stag parties in temple bar should do wonders for herd immunity.
It will be great if Trump gets elected for another 4 years in November and Britain will have at least 4 more years of Boris. Strong leaders who are at the top of their game. No wishy washy policy’s with these guys. They are tough on crime and that is the trademark of good leadership
@Maurice O Neill: Troll alert
@Finnster: Not even a decent troll attempt, I know it’s Sunday and he may be tired but that’s just pathetic.
@Mel Fitzpatrick: If you happen to support a view that is different from another’s persons its called having an opinion. Problem with society today is exactly why I feel so strong about having a right to an opinion.
@Maurice O Neill: No problem with different opinions at all. It’s part of being human. However you must expect to be called on your opinions when there’s scant evidence to support them and the evidence to counter them exists unfiltered in the public domain in Terms of Tweets, unedited interview transcripts, live video recordings and their actions/lack of actions. They are utterly unfit to hold any office and be called leaders.
@Nick: I agree with you. Leaders are elected by the people and not by emotion and sentiment unless you are from China where they have no Democracy
@Maurice O Neill: do you live underneath electricity pylons?
@Maurice O Neill: You should expect to be called out when you defend the indefensible.
With opinions like yours, I would have thought you’d be used to it.
@Maurice O Neill: Boris is the very epitome of ‘wishy – washy’. Vague, indecisive, living on ill-defined sound-bites.
@Maurice O Neill: Not sure if you read what I posted. I did not question their election status. I pointed out that there is a multitude of evidence demonstrating their total ineptitude & unsuitability to hold any office. This is not an attack on the democratic process. However for the US, decades of problems with their political, economic, social & educational systems helped create the conditions for a Trump like figure to emerge. In the UK, decades of anti EU propaganda along with problems in their political, social & economic systems helped to create the conditions for a charlatan like Boris to emerge. Democracy isn’t perfect & it can result in the characters like Trump and Boris gaining power if the conditions are right. Democracy requires work which seems to be lacking at the moment.
@Maurice O Neill: being tough on crime is the trademark of good leadership? Do you have anything tho back that up or is it like Trump’s leadership style purely based on a hunch?
@Nick: And what one of our great leaders last week praising Fidel Castro..Any issue with that or does he get a pass because of his political beliefs
@Maurice O Neill: I don’t think you understand. This is about your original post where your praised Trump and Boris. It’s been pointed out to you how there is repeated evidence of their unsuitability for holding any office and how the poor state of democracy in both countries contribued to their rise. Moving on to Irish politicians is entering the realm of “whataboutery”. Is there any hope of you backing up your statement.
@Maurice O Neill: Yes, Putin and King Jong and the Brazilian president too, all tough on crime but like Trump and Johnson lack emotional intelligence and empathy and any financial acumen but strong men all the same!
@Maurice O Neill: Considering you train out young teams I am a bit worried about your influence on them now.
@Maurice O Neill: I hope that’s sarcasim, bull in a china shop more like…
There’s also Brexit looming over the horizon. Looks like they’ve dropped their food standards to accommodate the US. Nissan has said it will go in the event of a no deal, and they’re not ready for the Irish sea border.
project fear they called it, rapidly becoming project fact.
I think we all Boris and apology. It seems like he was one step ahead all along
: the chlorinated chicken he is now importing from the US will not only give them the protein they need to roll up their sleeves and rebuild Britain post brexit, but also it will act as a natural preventative against covid-19. (According to Blonde no. 1) Genius! It’s time we ate some humble pie- humble pie that is with chlorinated chicken.
Expect large rise in cases/ deaths following weekend of stupid protests and mass gatherings.. why stupid? cos we’re in the middle of a virus pandemic…
@Sean Fallon: Black lives matter , so we organise a mass public rally in Dublin at the weekend to facilitate the spread of the virus . What about the hysteria about travel to Cheltenham, and social distancing ? No problem , “talk to Joe “ . If his bandwagon promotion of the event and his endorsement of certain people of colour as more Irish than the Irish themselves then the recent mob activity in Bristol is not far around the corner .
All lives matter, but perhaps the safety of white lives in Ireland should receive some sympathy as citizens and tax payers !
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