Women and girls in Ireland are 'primed for violence' on a daily basis, Holly Cairns tells Dáil

MOST WOMEN IN Ireland have experienced sexual harassment or violence and are “primed” for this behaviour on a daily basis, the Dáil has been told.

Proposing a motion calling for a Zero Tolerance Approach to Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns said women and girls across the country are routinely subjected to harassment and violence.

Cairns praised the bravery of Natasha O’Brien – whose attacker received a fully suspended sentence after beating her unconscious, and Bláthnaid Ralleigh – who waived her right to anonymity so her rapist could be named.

She said both women are “incredibly brave” for speaking out and calling for change.

“Their demands for justice and reform aren’t just being heard in this chamber. They are being heard in hundreds and thousands of homes all over the country.

Homes where other girls and women – who are living with violence or abuse; or who have suffered violence and abuse – now don’t feel so alone.

O’Brien was present in the Dáil chamber for the debate. On Monday, it was confirmed that her attacker, Cathal Crotty, will be sacked by the Defence Forces.

Crotty, who boasted about the assault online, also faces an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions on grounds of sentence leniency. 

Cairns told the Dáil that women like O’Brien and Ralleigh “are in the majority because most women have experienced sexual harassment or violence”.

Every day, they are primed for it. They know the cold dread of hearing heavy footsteps speed up behind them when they are walking home alone at night.

“They know the sense of embarrassment and discomfort when senior male colleagues act inappropriately. They know the anger and the humiliation of being aggressively groped in a busy street or pub.

“They know the feeling of rising panic when they find themselves trapped in a room with a man whose demeanour has suddenly shifted.

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“Most of the women listening to me now, will have experienced at least one of those situations. Many will have endured them all.”

Cairns spoke about the recent case where a Dublin taxi driver who raped two young women in separate incidents in 2022 was convicted of raping a seven-year-old girl over a decade ago.

The SocDems’ motion calls for taxi regulations to be reviewed, including the power of An Garda Siochána to revoke or suspend a taxi licence if the driver in question is charged with sexual offences.

Cairns also noted the “shocking” revelations detailed in a joint investigation into the Football Association of Ireland by the Sunday Independent and RTÉ which last weekend uncovered allegations of unwanted sexual advances, sexual abuse and bullying by a number of coaches in the 1990s. 

She said the investigation showed how this type of behaviour has been endemic in Irish society for a long time.

Zero Tolerance Approach

In 2022, the Government published the third national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and said it was adopting a ‘zero tolerance’ approach.

Cairns said the Government has since then failed to close major loopholes and provide vital support to at-risk women and children.

A number of TDs in the chamber noted that this is the latest in a line of similar motions put forward by different parties such as Sinn Féin and Labour over the years, and asked the Government to increase funding and resources as a matter of urgency. 

The motion calls on the Government to commit to a number of actions, including the following:

• Update the Dáil on when sentencing guidelines from the Judicial Council will finally be published
• Clarify when the report of Peter Ward SC, into the administration of cases involving Defence Forces personnel charged or convicted of criminal offences, will be completed and published
• Review taxi regulations, including the power of An Garda Siochána to revoke or suspend a SPSV licence, the operation of those powers, and whether they are sufficient
• Increase refuge space so Ireland is in line with our obligations under the Istanbul Convention; include the numbers staying in women’s refuges in the homeless figures; and increase the provision of secure alternative housing for those in refuges

The motion is not being opposed by the Government.

Speaking in the Dail today, Justice Minister Helen McEntee also commended O’Brien, Raleigh and other women who have spoken out about the assaults they were subjected to.

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“I also commend the survivors and victims who speak out about their experiences, who show the utmost courage, but also those who can’t, those who feel they can’t, who are not in a position to do so,” the minister said.

McEntee stated that while the Government has made “some improvements” in tackling gender-based violence, “there is so, so much more work that we need to do”.

Quoting Cairns, McEntee said she wished Ireland was in a position to say “never again” to violent attacks on women, but the required change in culture “won’t happen over the lifetime of one strategy, or indeed, one Government ”.

McEntee continued:

I don’t think we’re anywhere near that, it’s one of the things that frustrates me the most.

The minister said everyone in the Dáil is “absolutely committed to making progress”, but they all know that women, children and men will be “victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence today, tomorrow and the next day”.

“All we can do is commit to making the changes that we can to try and shift our institutions, to try and shift that culture, and to try and achieve that zero tolerance, because it’s about us not tolerating what we’ve tolerated before, and that takes a huge amount of effort and time.

“But I’m absolutely committed to it, and I think everybody in this house is committed to it as well.”

In terms of increasing the number of domestic violence refuges in Ireland, McEntee said there are 18 projects underway that will double the number of refuge places.

“That’s not the end point, but we need to get the structure [in place] so that it’s not just bricks and mortar, that it’s the services surrounding it as well, and we’re making really good progress, most importantly, working with the sector in that regard,” she said.

Earlier in the debate, Cairns noted that the Government’s plan is to double the number of refuge spaces to 280 by 2026, “even though the Istanbul Convention, which Ireland finally ratified in 2019, requires us to have 675″.

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