Áine Mac Grory acknowledges the fantastic initiative that is SAFE pharmacy but I discusses the desire to see it funded in the future to bring it to truly safe standards
In September 2023, the IPU was presented with the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) health promotion campaign award by the chair of the board of pharmaceutical practice. It was given for a pharmacy initiative in Ireland to support the victims of domestic abuse and coercive control.
This is an award that has been made each year since 2016 and references the campaigns as “a cornerstone of the essential contribution that Primary Health Care makes, to universal health coverage and the role and place of Community Pharmacy to the delivery of the Astana declaration… even more so since the Covid-19 pandemic.”*
SAFE Pharmacy was described by IPU as “an initiative with the IPU to encourage victims of domestic abuse and coercive control to come forward for help to give them a safe space to reach out for support”. They went on to emphasise that “every pharmacy in the country must and does have a consultation area, a private and safe space that is visually private and also audibly private — that space will be offered to people in a confidential non- judgmental way. Pharmacists will be able to make the call on behalf of the person or to give them their control back they can make the call themselves. It’s easy, it’s accessible, there’s no appointment needed… someone experiencing domestic abuse and coercive control knows that there’s a safe space when they might only have moments to make a call… all that’s needed is that you ask for help in any SAFE pharmacy you will be believed, you will be listened to, you will be helped.”
Launched in July 2022, SAFE pharmacy was cited as being well placed to help people who have difficulty or have problems at home because in Ireland, 85 per cent of the population live within 5kms of a community pharmacy and there are approximately 78 million visits to a community pharmacy each year. How many of those visitors are abusers?
I remember the first SAFE pharmacy I entered. At the time I was a locum pharmacist and it was the first time I had been to this particular pharmacy. I saw the purple decal in the window and had heard of it through the media.
I introduced myself as I always did upon arrival and marked the SAFE pharmacy status. Who is in charge of that today? (Pharmacies that sign up to the service nominate a Safe Pharmacy champion within the pharmacy. The champion can be a pharmacist, technician or over-the- counter staff member.)
The response was alarming. Blank stares and shoulder shrugs. That was done by the previous supervising pharmacist who had left months ago. Hence the need for locum cover and my reason for being there in the first place. At that moment, ironically, I felt exceptionally unsafe. I enquired about whether we had a security guard — no. Budget cuts. I did a quick assessment of my current predicament. For the duration of the shift, I had a 17-year-old student working weekends and studying for her leaving certificate. She had been with the pharmacy in question for four months. The next, a 21-year-old hoping to get some experience in pharmacy with the desire to perhaps complete the two-year IPU technician course down the line.
My pharmacy services a community that has domestic abuse woven into the fabric of its identity. It’s a disease that is passed on from one generation to the next. It stems from inside families, homes and the small networks that community pharmacists serve every day.
I recently heard the story of a Monaghan woman on RTÉ Radio 1. She had been left with permanent, life- altering brain damage at the hands of her nephew. When asked by the presenter if it was shocking that the perpetrator was a close family member, the daughter of this poor woman didn’t flinch and simply said, “violence against women usually involves someone known to them or a family member”. And she was right.
Eight weeks ago I had a woman attend with the announcement, “I left him”.
The woman explained she wouldn’t be collecting her mother in law’s weekly medication anymore. There had been a harrowing incident the night before. She recounted being pinned to the ground. Her partner, at the same time knelt on her chest while covering her mouth and pinching her nose shut. She told me through sobs, “all I thought as I started to lose consciousness was, ‘he’s going to be devastated when he realises what he’s done. He won’t survive the aftermath. Who will mind his mother if he goes to prison?’ Even when I was about to leave this earth, all I was worried about was him.”
And here is the part that makes every hair on the back of my neck stand up:
She wasn’t in the pharmacy for herself. She was collecting her mother-in-law’s weekly prescription (who is on 10 medications, all currently on a weekly phase until January 2026, that is).
She was performing an act of care on behalf of the family of the man who nearly killed her. This man would now be attending in her place.
And I often think back to that locum shift, particularly after speaking to women like the one above. What if she had chosen that moment — that day — to seek help? What if she had walked into a SAFE Pharmacy staffed by me, a
They are daily realities. Would my staff and I be safe if he thought we aided in one of her many attempts to leave?
lone locum with no training, no security, and no idea she was fleeing her abuser? What if he had followed her in?
Because he easily could have.
And sometimes the woman who whispered “I left him” will return weeks later, as was the case in that instance. There she was, after a few weeks of absence, standing next to that same man, smiling through clenched teeth while he answers every question for her. What do I do then? What can I do?
These are not rhetorical questions. They are daily realities. Would my staff and I be safe if he thought we aided in one of her many attempts to leave?
Crime in pharmacy is already in itself a nationwide issue.
I currently am not signed up to the SAFE pharmacy initiative, and without some sort of annual funding to make it possible to launch safely, I won’t be. That is not to be misconstrued for thinking it is not important or worth implementing. In fact the latter. It would be something I would hope to see canvassed for in the next round of negotiations. An award- winning initiative should get financial backing and this was requested at the regionals just gone.
These experiences are exactly why SAFE Pharmacy cannot remain an unfunded, voluntary, good-will-based initiative. The landscape of pharmacy is changing come 2026. We are tapped out on good will and it does not pay the rent or the security bill.
When a woman flees a violent relative or partner (often not for the first time), the pharmacy may be the first place she runs to, especially if there is a purple invite welcoming her in the door. Sometimes the only place.
And when that moment comes, she deserves a pharmacy that is trained, secure and equipped to keep both her and the pharmacy team safe.
Anything less is not safety. It is risk dressed up as reassurance.
It seems obvious to me that an already established and praised initiative should receive financial recognition before implementing any new services.
There was a sharp spike in the need for domestic violence support services in Ireland during the pandemic. The new pharmacy agreement aims to reduce pressures and demand on GP services and hospital admissions. Why can’t a well-funded SAFE initiative be considered to reduce the demand on DV support services?
I wish to acknowledge that this article recounts personal experiences from my time working as a community pharmacist. I refer to the women I have encountered, but want to recognise that men are also sufferers of domestic abuse.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) statistical release,** 18 June 2025, reported “females remained the main victims of recorded crime incidents of Sexual offences, accounting for three
out of every four victims (74%) in 2024, compared with 26% for males.’’ It speaks to the prevalence of violence in the female population, but my intention is not to dismiss the existence of male victims to. There are many — sadly.
The idea of getting a victim of domestic abuse into the consultation room to make the relevant calls seems like an ill-thought- out, oversimplified solution to a massively complex problem. Is it just me?
* Irish Domestic Abuse Service Wins International Award
** Sexual Violence Survey 2022 – Main Results – Central Statistics Office
Áine is a Superintendent Pharmacist and pharmacy owner with over 18 years of experience working in community pharmacies across Ireland. In 2014, she earned her Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) degree in the UK. Her career journey has encompassed a variety of roles, including locum, support, and supervising, culminating in her recent transition to pharmacy ownership. She is deeply committed to upholding the integrity and vital role of community pharmacy in Ireland, combining her extensive experience with a passion for patient care and professional excellence.
