THE SCALE of the domestic abuse problem across the county has been starkly revealed by figures from Fermanagh Women’s Aid (FWA), which showed almost 400 women and almost 300 children sought help from the local organisation in the past year.
The shocking statistics were revealed after a surge in support for FWA and domestic violence victims in the community over the last week, following the intense media coverage of a Facebook post by Nicola Gallagher in which she made a series of serious allegations against her estranged husband Rory Gallagher.
In a statement to the Herald, a spokeswoman for FWA said, “Women’s Aid groups right across Northern Ireland are working every day to support women and their children who have been subjected to domestic and sexual abuse.
“In Fermanagh in the year 2022/23 alone, Women’s Aid supported 392 women and 287 children through community support and emergency accommodation services.”
In addition, nine women and four children also stayed at the FWA refuge in the past 12 months.
However the organisation – which has been tirelessly lobbying for funding for new purpose-built refuge in the county – revealed it sadly had to turn away 21 women and 12 children as its refuge was full.
For more on this story see this week’s Fermanagh Herald.
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