Woman secures protection order against husband who ‘doesn’t believe’ in child’s eating disorder

A woman who claimed her husband “doesn’t believe” in their child’s eating disorder, and did not allow her to vaccinate their children during the Covid-19 pandemic, has been granted a protection order.The woman sought the emergency order at the Dublin District Family Court on Friday, telling Judge John Brennan she feels “unsafe” at home with her husband.The couple “nearly lost” their child to anorexia, she said, with Brennan hearing the man “doesn’t believe anorexia is a mental illness” and blamed their child for “destroying the family”.The woman said her husband believed their child “deliberately stopped eating” and that he has put the child “through hell”.READ MOREShe said her husband had been “threatening” in the past, including on one occasion after she spent about €4 from their joint account on a hot chocolate for their child. She said she rarely sees her husband eat and that he had lost a significant amount of weight.Describing the years of the Covid-19 pandemic as “horrendous”, she said she believed she was a victim of coercive control, alleging she was told who she could or could not see at the time.She said her husband was “defiant” against government regulations during the pandemic and that she “wasn’t allowed” to have her children vaccinated.“I can’t describe how horrific it was during that time,” she said.“He started up again about a week ago saying it’s ‘all going to come out soon’ about the conspiracy, about the Covid lockdowns, that it was all fake.”She added: “It’s very sad; I think my husband’s not well.” The woman said she feels “unsafe” at home with her husband, describing a “tenseness”, while her younger child had “pleaded” with her to “get him to leave”.Brennan granted a protection order on an ex parte (one side represented only) basis. The temporary order, which could see the man arrested should he put the woman in fear for her safety, will remain in place until a full hearing on the matter at a later date.The woman was one of several people to seek such orders on Friday, some of whom alleged sexual assault, threats to their life and partners “withholding” milk from their baby during arguments.In one case, a woman was granted a protection order against her former partner after the judge heard he allegedly “jumped” on top of and “strangled” her.“He was sitting on top of my chest and he had his hands around my neck and he was choking me,” she said.The incident happened several days prior, the woman alleged, adding that it was after they had gone to a pub for an event.“I told him he was going to kill me if he didn’t stop and he said: ‘Yeah, I know’,” she told the judge.The woman added that the man subsequently “punched” her in the face with a closed fist and kicked her “two or three times in the head and in the side”.She suffered a fractured nose and had “strangle marks” on her neck, she said, adding that she was concerned things might escalate as she had reported the alleged assault to gardaí.“He’s told me he’s going to destroy my life,” she added. “It’s just been an absolute nightmare. I haven’t even had time to process everything because I’ve been in the hospital,” she said.The judge said he was satisfied that a protection order was necessary for the woman’s safety, granting an emergency order until a full hearing at a later date.“Never again,” she said. “I’m staying single for the entirety of the rest of my life.”