Woman granted barring order over abusive behaviour by partner

Irish Times

2 days ago

A woman whose partner allegedly 'forces' her to have sex 'every second night' has been granted an interim barring order against him.
The woman, who sought the order against her partner of more than a decade at the emergency domestic violence court at Dublin's Dolphin House, claimed on one occasion she was left covered in bruises.
She told Judge Mark O'Connell that her partner has had a cocaine addiction for two years, claiming he gets 'very paranoid' and abusive.
'He always thinks I'm cheating on him, and he follows me everywhere,' she said.
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She added that her partner, with whom she has a child, wakes her up in the middle of the night and 'forces' her to have sex, which I don't want.'
Noting this constitutes rape, the judge asked how often it occurs, with the woman saying it was 'every second night'.
'One night, he uses me, and the other night, he sleeps,' she said.
On one occasion, the woman said she was brought to the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit at the Rotunda Hospital by gardaí and was 'all bruises.'
She said her partner has been charged by the gardaí.
'He is behaving in an absolutely violent and unacceptable way,' said the judge. 'He has to leave.'
She was granted an interim barring order against her partner until a full hearing, in which one of up to three years could be granted.
The temporary order will mean her partner is removed from the home by gardaí and prohibited from contacting her.
She was one of about 15 people, the vast majority women, to seek emergency protection at the court on Friday morning.
Another woman, who said she was 'in fear of my life and my kids' lives', was granted a protection order against her former partner. She claimed he was sharing her current location online and posting allegations that she is a 'child molester' and 'running a paedophile ring'.
'It's putting the lives of my kids in danger,' she told the judge.
The woman, who is staying in emergency accommodation with her children, said she is 'petrified that he's going to send people.'
'I've been in and out of hostels and this is my fifth homeless accommodation because of this man, because he keeps turning up with blades, turning up with baseball bats, with hatchets.
'He has beat me so bad that he made me urinate myself. I'm in fear of my life and my kids' lives,' she said.
She claimed on one occasion, she was held hostage by the man for a week in his house and was seriously assaulted, saying she subsequently required brain scans at a hospital.
'I was bleeding from the ears,' she said.
The woman, who is originally from another county in Ireland, said she did not report the ordeal to gardaí as she was 'petrified.'
She also alleged that the man has been attending her children's schools and trying to contact her older child on social media, through 'other children.'
'I can't take it any more,' she said.
The judge granted the protection order until a full hearing. The order prohibits any contact, intimidation, and violence, and if breached, can result in a fine, prison sentence or both.
Another woman was granted a protection order after telling the judge her former partner was allegedly using drugs in front of their children on a trip abroad.
She said her son, aged over 10, had been 'acting out' over the last year or so, and after he began to attend counselling sessions, 'it all came out' that his father had used drugs in front of him at a hotel abroad.
'He actually took 12 tablets and told the kids that if he doesn't wake up, to go down and tell the reception. The kids were petrified; they sat in the room for the whole two days,' she said.