Not alone: civil legal aid for domestic violence in Ireland.

• In Event: Trauma, Justice, and Recovery in Domestic and sexual Violence Contexts

Abstract

Domestic violence is often viewed primarily as a criminal justice issue. However, it offers a bridge between the criminal and civil legal aid sectors. This is because in several countries victims of domestic violence can avail of legal representation through legal aid bodies to assist them exit the destructive dynamic. More than just the individual criminal matter legal aid addresses, a connection between deprivation and domestic violence has also been documented in several jurisdictions. There legal aid assistance has been shown to have positive economic contributions beyond the victim of domestic violence for the wider society in which they reside. The paper offers a first consideration of legal aid applications for domestic violence in Ireland. Using administrative data from the national legal aid agency, it considers commonly considered case details (sex, area affluence/deprivation profile, rural vs urban locality, and seasonality of reporting domestic violence matters). In doing so it aims to understand Ireland in the context of international patterns and its performance against persistent recommendations for the State to improve its handling of domestic violence but also stasis/change in societal deprivation. The paper closes by noting the impending change to the Irish legal aid sector and its likely impact on such services to domestic violence cases for the victims.

Author

• Brian Moss, Legal Aid Board Ireland