Cork event will discuss increase in coercive control incidents

With gardaí reporting an 11% year-on-year increase in domestic-abuse-related contacts last year, an upcoming Cork event will seek to address the issue of coercive control.

In 2025, An Garda Síochána received more than 67,500 domestic-abuse-related contacts, an increase on the 2024 figure of more than 61,000.

Gardaí received the equivalent of more than 1,300 contacts a week in 2025, which was up on 2024’s weekly figure of around 1,174.

An event in early November at Cork County Hall will feature a panel discussion entitled ‘Five Books That Could Save Your Life’.

Moderated by Irish Examiner columnist Sarah Harte, it will be part of an all-island project putting at the centre of public conversation five books on coercive control, domestic homicide, and men’s role in the prevention of those crimes.

The panel will include international coercive control expert Dr Lisa Aronson Fontes; Mary Clare Clark, West Cork Beacon; Noelle Collins, Belfast and Lisburn Women’s Aid, and retired district judge Barney McElhom.

The keynote speech will be delivered by Madeline McAleer, chief executive of Haven Horizons, a national organisation which focuses on the prevention of domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence.

The cross-border project is delivered by Haven Horizons, in partnership with the West Cork Beacon support service, and Belfast & Lisburn Women’s Aid.

Ms McAleer said the project had been inspired by the words of a woman who had read, at her recommendation, a book on coercive control. On returning the book, the woman had said: ‘I think that book saved my life’.

“That’s why I chose five books that would help people understand coercive control and recognise the red flags in unhealthy relationships,” Ms McAleer said.

The ‘Five Books That Could Save Your Life’ tour 2026 will arrive at Vertigo, Cork County Hall, on November 11, at 10.30am. The event is free and can be booked at Eventbrite.