Dr. Salome Mbugua Henry:

I thank the Chair so much, and AkiDwA welcomes the opportunity to present to the committee today. Our organisation welcomes the establishment of this general scheme of the domestic, sexual and gender-based violence agency Bill, and views it as an opportunity to advance gender equality and zero tolerance of DSGBV in all of Irish society for all people.

Our organisation is a network of migrant women living in Ireland which was established in 2001, and we try to promote equality and justice for migrant women of all migration statuses. It also works on domestic and gender-based violence in a way that reflects the intersectionality between migration, gender and gender-based violence. We work with women who have lived experiences of diverse forms of DSGBV. In the committee's consideration of this draft general scheme, it is crucial to note that DSGBV covers not only domestic violence but also other forms of DSGBV such as female genital mutilation, early forced marriages and trafficking, which are present in Ireland today and from which all women and girls need to be ensured protection and provision of services.

I have a scenario and I want to go through it all. We have flagged extensively in our written submission the statistics and trends relating to the full spectrum of forms of DSGBV. Before I move to the two key recommendations that we have, I wanted to pose a scenario for the committee.

You have moved to Ireland with your partner and two children when your partner got a job here as an engineer. You had been forced into marriage when you were aged 14, and you had female genital mutilation performed on you when you were six years old. Your partner has always been aggressive and controlling, but he is well respected in your community and your family holds him in high regard. Not long after moving to Ireland, your partner becomes very violent.

It is the middle of Ramadan, and you make a decision to visit the agency to seek support. When you arrive, the receptionist offers you some water, but you cannot accept because you are fasting. When the time comes to meet the social worker, you dictate through a translator because you cannot speak the language.

They appear confused by how you are saying things. The agency staff then find an Arabic speaker on the Women’s Aid translation line and you must repeat your story for the person on the other end. I cannot continue with this case because it will take a lot of time. I want to bring to the committee an understanding of the many migrant women we deal with from different diverse backgrounds and what we want to see, for example, in the structure of the agency in terms of staff.

Looking first at the provisions in the draft general scheme for personnel who will make up the agency, both the staff and the board, there is a uniting thread we are adamant about, which is the need to ensure representation of women and ethnic minority groups in these workforces. This could be achieved through mechanisms such as nested quotas for staffing and the board, as well as subgroupings within the board which would have consultative status with the Minister, to name a few examples of such temporary special measures for the agency. Moreover, and even more urgently, ensuring adequate and continuous training for staff who will engage directly with clients of the agency and board members will be of crucial importance to avoid unconscious bias in the agency and to ensure sufficient attention to diverse concerns, should representation initially be lacking.

Regarding the function and operation of the structure and services, we wish to flag some recommendations for the content and substance of the services to be provided by the above staff. In the provision of services by the agency, it will be crucial that client confidentiality is prioritised, no matter the arrangements with service providers. This will be essential for migrant women who are vulnerable to alienation, seeking independent status from abusive partners and on less secure migration status footing to engage with the service. Clear terms and conditions and a monitoring body that is external, representative and impartial is needed to regulate the relationship between service providers and the agency.