Abuse reports spike during World Cup
The arrival of the World Cup has coincided with a “massive increase” in people contacting a domestic abuse support service in Cork city.
OSS Cork on South Main Street has experienced a notable surge in client numbers in recent weeks, with one staff member taking on ten new clients.
Speaking to the Cork Independent, OSS Cork Manager, Deborah O’Flynn, said large sporting events such as the World Cup can exacerbate situations where domestic abuse already exists, noting alcohol consumption and gambling as two major factors.
She said: “I can only speak for ourselves here at the moment, but we've had a massive increase in the last number of weeks. Historically, there would often have been a little bit of a lull coming into July and August because of children being off school.”
Though Ms O’Flynn noted alcohol consumption around sporting events is not the direct cause of coercive control and domestic abuse, it can assist in increasing incidence rates.
She said: “Some people will be watching the matches and drinking at home; some people will go out to a pub depending on the hour of the day – and you can imagine if somebody is already experiencing domestic abuse, the way that they would be walking on eggshells if somebody comes home and they're in a negative frame of mind. Perhaps they've lost money.
“What we're talking about here is a certain level (of domestic abuse) existing already, and the whole thing gets exacerbated by these gatherings,” added Ms O’Flynn.
Gambling
Increased gambling activity comes hand-in-hand with the World Cup too. This in turn can intensify existing instances of financial abuse, said Ms O’Flynn.
“You can be guaranteed now people are going to be betting on the outcome of matches and who scores what goals first and how many goals are going to be scored,” she said.
One of the most problematic issues around gambling noted by OSS Cork is its secretive nature, with most gambling now being done via phone apps.
Ms O’Flynn said a significant portion of OSS Cork’s clients contact the service because they have been financially compromised by gambling their partner has got themselves into.
She said: “We would see that as part and parcel of what we call financial abuse or financial control, which is part of that pattern of coercive control.
“It has affected our clients’ credit, and it has put some people in spaces where their homes may be at risk because mortgages have not been paid.
“We have seen people also do anything in order to satisfy their gambling addiction, whereby they may be putting their partner or spouse under coercion to take out loans and debts on their behalf,” added Ms O’Flynn.
The secrecy around gambling and the ease of access through phones has “exploded those elements of abuse” she said, adding: “Those phones are lethal. Absolutely lethal.”
International trends
Dublin-based domestic abuse treatment centre, Sonas, is raising concerns about the heightened risk of domestic violence based on new research by the Lancaster University in England.
The research found a significant rise in incidents on match days with the risk of abuse increasing by 26% when the English national team won or drew, and a 38% increase when the national team lost.
Sonas said other research has identified similar patterns across multiple countries, suggesting the issue extends beyond any single jurisdiction or sporting culture.
Sonas CEO, Fiona O’Malley said: “Football does not cause domestic violence, and the overwhelming majority of supporters enjoy sporting events safely and respectfully. However, we cannot ignore the growing body of evidence which suggests that major tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup can coincide with spikes in domestic abuse incidents. For victim-survivors already living in fear, periods of heightened tension in the home can represent a very real increase in risk.”