Women are being encouraged to come forward and seek help if they are the victims of domestic violence.
It comes after a man received an 18 month suspended sentence after pleading guilty to a charge assault causing harm to his wife in West Cork on News Years Day 2020 .
Marius Rucinskas, who is originally from Lithuania, and now living in Cork City was handed an 18 month suspended sentence when he appeared before Cork Circuit Criminal Court yesterday for beating and almost suffocating his wife at their home in Castletownbere.
Domestic violence social worker Caitriona O’Neill from the Cuanlee refuge centre in Cork was shocked with the sentence.
However she says it shouldn't deter women from coming forward:
"Link in with your family and friends, you know, talk to people about what's happening in your life, seek support from you know your local domestic violence support services, who guarantee there is support out there and, you know, this an awful example of, you know, of the system failing. This isn't the case for every woman."
