Record number of people contacted Women’s Aid in 2024, report reveals

Women’s Aid chief executive said these numbers are "utterly appalling"

The Women's Aid 2024 Annual Impact Report showed that the number of domestic abuse disclosures against women and children is increasing.

In 2024, 41,432 disclosures of abuse against women were made to them, an increase of over 10,000 in three years since 2021.

The team reports that disclosures of emotional (25,441), physical (9,590), economic (4,522), and sexual abuse (1,879) have almost continuously risen since 2021.

Furthermore, just over 5,000 disclosures of domestic abuse against children were recorded in 2024, an increase of just under 1,000 since 2023.

As per The Irish Times, Sarah Benson, Women’s Aid chief executive, said these numbers are "utterly appalling".

“Fear, stigma, and the debilitating impact of the abuse itself, but also persisting social attitudes to domestic violence, prevent victims from coming forward.”

Benson continued that more work must be done to encourage people to seek out support.

She notes that men need "to lead as allies in prevention of male violence” to tackle the increasing number of domestic violence.

In total, Women's Aid received 46,765 disclosures of domestic abuse against women and children in 2024.

49% of perpetrators in 2024 were current male partners, 33% a former male partner, 13% a man who wasn't a partner or ex, and 5% by a female abuser.

Women's Aid also recorded 44 cases in which perpetrators used pets and animals as "part of coercive control and abuse".

One quote in the report stated that if she changed the locks, "he would kill the cat and break every window in the house."

To read the Women's Aid Annual Impact Report, click here.

If you are in need of support, contact the Women’s Aid 24-hour National Freephone Helpline at 1800 341 900, open seven days a week.

For further support, contact