It takes a while before they actually realise “gosh, no, it isn’t to do with me”.

IN JUST ONE day this year, almost 800 Irish women sought help following domestic violence.

Last year, more than 16,000 incidents of domestic violence against women were disclosed to the Women’s Aid charity. These are the women who did seek help.

In a video released by the White Ribbon Campaign, nurses have described the injuries they’ve treated victims for and how difficult it is to see their shame at what happened to them and their fear of taking action about it.

Obviously there’s the fractures and, you know, facial bruising but for a lot of women it’s actually more discreet. It can be around their torso, areas where bruises can be hidden. – Claire Mahon

Broken arms, broken jaws, fingers badly bruised thrust behind the door. – Liam Doran

Sometimes they’ll miss their appointments if they’ve got bruises or if they think there’s going to be a physical examination of any kind. – Naomi O’Donovan

Claire Mahon, who is the president of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said it can be very upsetting when you have a woman sitting in front of you who you have seen on multiple visits to the hospital because of abuse.

“It’s so horrific you can hardly get your head around it and I’ll remember all the women I’ve ever come across and you just wonder where are they now, how are they getting on. It’s something that really, really resonates with you, whether you’re a woman or not,” her colleague, Naomi O’Donovan said.

Watch the video in full:

Do you need help? If you are experiencing domestic violence, you can call the Women’s Aid National freephone helpline on 1800 341 900.

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