Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I just read a press release from the Irish Council of Civil Liberties calling for urgent action on image-based sexual abuse. It says that the creation and distribution of private sexual images without consent is not revenge porn but is image-based sexual abuse. I learned this morning of a good friend and councillor of People before Profit who suffered from this a number of years ago when she was a student. Clearly, it has been rumbling on for too long, but now it has been escalated to an extent that it is becoming viral. Like any virus, it will spread unless we deal with it. I add my voice to those calling on the Minister to deal with this urgently. It is pretty sick behaviour of weird predators and we need to stamp it out.

I will make a couple of points. To tackle domestic violence seriously we need to understand its social roots. It is not just a question of individual bad men. It is that, but it is also the product of a society that for centuries has treated women as second- and sometimes third-class citizens and, worse, at one stage regarded them as the property of men, in particular seeing wives as the property of husbands. We all know what people can do with their private property. They do what they like with it. The days when we turn a blind eye to this and say it is only a domestic are over. Women now are saying not just "Me Too" but "enough is enough".

It is then asked why they do not leave these relationships. That is the reaction that many people will get when the abuse of a woman or of a family is heard of. Fear is one reason, the fear that if they do not succeed in getting away from the abuser, it will be worse for them. They are right, because research shows that some of the most horrific cases of violence are against those who try to leave.

There is another huge factor in that they have nowhere to go. This situation has become worse during the pandemic, with about 2,000 women and 400 children each month since March seeking refuge from a violent situation. The fact that support for vulnerable women and children is left to charities is an utter disgrace. The State should and could adequately fund essential services, providing refuge in the immediate situation and support for women and children. There are 63 organisations listed by the Minister’s Department who receive funding. It is a bit reminiscent of the Magdalen institutions where the State is wiping its hands. This should be a fundamental role of State services without the reliance on charities. Nine out of 26 counties have no refuge. The entire domestic violence sector about a quarter of the funding that the racehorse and greyhound industry receives. That is where we are at, and while I know that the Minister’s Department is trying, it is not enough.

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