Covid-19 is reducing the number of refuge spaces available for victims of abuse in Ireland, who may now be trapped in isolation with their attackers.
here are calls for the State to remove women and children from nine refuges, which share communal living spaces.
Ireland already has a shortage of refuge spaces and each year thousands of women and children are turned away.
There are 21 domestic abuse refuges, but 10 counties have no refuges. There are a total of 141 refuge spaces in Ireland, according to the most recent figures available.
The Istanbul Convention, a European directive for the prevention of violence against women, recommends that a country the size of Ireland should have 472 spaces.
Aoibhneas, a refuge in Dublin, told the Irish Independent that so far this year it has already seen a 53pc increase in the number of abuse survivors it cannot accommodate compared with 2019. The number of calls to its helpline also increased by 50pc in March.
It is one of a number of refuges that has had to reduce the number of women and children it can accommodate because of Covid-19.
"As a frontline service provider, we are already seeing and responding to the impact of curtailed service provision to women and children experiencing domestic abuse.
"We are doing our best to ensure we abide by all relevant guidelines and understand our role in combating Covid-19 but women and children's safety in their homes must also continue to be a priority.
"We are calling on the Government to increase support to the sector as we strive to protect women and children," said Emma Reidy, the chief executive of Aoibhneas.
Saoirse women's refuge in Dublin, Mayo women's support service and Esker House refuge in Westmeath are all unable to accept new admissions to their refuges, according to Safe Ireland.
Sharon O'Halloran, the chief executive of Safe Ireland, said refuges that have communal spaces, such as bathrooms, were "potential sites for an outbreak" of Covid-19.
"We are being asked to operate these communal refuges despite the fact that we can't meet the current protocol on social distancing," she said.
"The women that are in those nine refuges need to be moved into safe accommodation as a matter of urgency. We need to be creative, and consider using Airbnbs."
Ms O'Halloran said some domestic abuse helplines had been "worryingly quiet".
"A woman might have a very small window of opportunity to call for help, but now that everyone is at home together most of the time she might lose that chance," she said, adding that refuges being full was a constant problem.
The Government has signed up to the Istanbul Convention, which recommends states should have one refuge space for every 10,000 people in the population. Ireland has claimed it only needs to provide one refuge space for every 10,000 adult women. It is understood that Ireland is the only country using this metric.
Shelter
GREVIO, the independent group which monitors how well countries are combating domestic abuse, has recommended that all states base their number of refuge spaces on their entire population.
"The standard of one shelter place per 10,000 people is a recommendation rather than a legal obligation. In its evaluation reports, GREVIO calls on states to meet this ratio in order to ensure a sufficient number of shelter places.
"The most important thing is to make sure there are enough places available for the people who need them," said Johanna Nelles, the Council of Europe's executive secretary for the Istanbul Convention.
Tusla said it was engaging directly with domestic abuse refuges during the pandemic.
"All advice offered by Tusla is in line with health advice from the NPHET and the HSE and it is important that this advice is followed in all settings including communal spaces, whilst also maintaining services," a spokeswoman said.
