A young woman has secured a protection order against her father after she told a court he had spat on her, “continuously stalks” her and takes pictures and videos of her and “sends them around”.
“He also regularly stands outside of my room, abusing me non-stop, especially during the night. This is specifically because I have work or school in the morning,” the woman told Dublin District Family Court.
The woman, aged in her early 20s, said her father had been “extremely verbally abusive to me almost every single day”.
She said he had bullied her and her sibling and had “threatened to kick us out, destroy our lives and harm our future, leaving me in constant fear for my life”.
“In the past he has been physically abusive but since stopped when my mum got her protection order,” she told the court in a sworn statement.
“At this present stage, he has lunged at me multiple times, broke items of my belongings and has spat on me. He continuously stalks me as I’m leaving the house, takes pictures and videos of me and sends them around.”
The woman added that her father “threatens me all the time, saying things like ‘I will make sure you die’, ‘You will never find peace or happiness’ and ‘I will make sure you don’t succeed’.”
The woman said her father’s behaviour was “unpredictable” and she was “fearful of what he can do”.
Judge Gerard Furlong granted the woman a protection order on an ex-parte basis (one side represented only), which prohibits her father from using or threatening to use violence.
Furlong said he was granting the order “straight away” and reiterated that the woman’s father was not to “use violence, to threaten violence, not to molest you in any way, put you in fear for your safety through his words, deeds or actions, inside or outside the home”.
A full hearing, which the woman’s father is expected to attend, was set for a later date.
In a separate case before the court, a woman secured a protection order against her former partner after she alleged he had taken intimate photos of her without her consent and shown them to “third parties”.
The woman said she and the man had been in a relationship for a number of years and had previously lived together. In a sworn statement to the court, the woman said during their relationship she was subjected to “ongoing psychological abuse”.
“This included emotional manipulation, controlling behaviour, intimidation and action intended to undermine my mental and emotional wellbeing,” she said.
“Without my knowledge or consent the respondent took intimate photos of me in private situations. This constitutes a serious violation of my privacy and dignity. These images were subsequently shown with third parties … causing me significant emotional distress, humiliation and harm.”
The woman said she had evidence confirming both the “taking and distribution” of the images as well as evidence that the man had engaged in “similar conduct involving other women, showing intimate images without their consent, demonstrating a pattern of abuse”.
Furlong granted the woman a protection order on an ex-parte basis and said she should report the alleged crime of distributing images without her consent to gardaí.
A full hearing, which the man is expected to attend, was set for a later date.