Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Slapping and kicking, stabbing with kitchen knives, penknives and scissors, burning with gas jets and cigarette lighters and belting with open hands, electronic equipment or furniture, whatever happens to be handy, are just part of what women and children face in circumstances of domestic violence. Men are also victims of such behaviour but, for the most part, it is women and their children who experience or witness it. It is one of the greatest perversions of domestic violence that women, as they lie on the floor or curl up in a ball, think that their children are not at the receiving end. They are, however, because the children are traumatised by what they know is happening to their mam. In some cases, they believe they themselves are to blame, in the belief that if they were better, nicer or cleverer, their mam might be spared. For so many women and children, home is not a refuge but a prison. They are locked in, locked up, monitored and scrutinised. Their belongings and sanity are ransacked, often by someone regarded as "a great fellow altogether" or "a pillar of the community" who looks like butter would not melt in his mouth. We have seen it in the newspapers.

The situation has been magnified by Covid-19 restrictions, leaving many women with no break from their bullying partners. So many women and children are dreading Christmas, with the pursuit of the perfect Christmas magnifying every problem, every slight. "My brother has a new car." — dig. "My mother never had time for me." — punch.

The refuges are wonderful and they are a miracle, a harbour in an unbearable storm. I visited Teach Tearmainn in Kildare. It is beautiful and it really does confer dignity immediately, along with protection, but we need more refuges. Many women who have come to me have said that when they reached the stage of going to a refuge, they preferred to leave their county. Therefore, every county needs a refuge. A woman thinks about what is going to happen to her and her children in the longer term, fearing homelessness because of the housing crisis. They would be homeless. This is where domestic violence and abuse become State violence and abuse. Our housing crisis is keeping women and children trapped inside four walls that are prisons, not homes.

I very much welcome this debate and the initiatives the Government has taken, but we must do more. The sharing of intimate pictures has been mentioned during this debate. I remember standing outside the Dáil a few years ago at a demonstration after the death of Ms Dara Quigley. Her brother was speaking. Dara's death was also a form of State violence. It brought great shame to An Garda Síochána. I was talking about my dad having been a member of An Garda Síochána last night. When the incident concerning Dara occurred, I was never so ashamed. I was glad that my dad was dead when it happened. Dara was a brave star. She was an ideological person working to shape a better future for society and she was let down by the State and by An Garda Síochána. We have to do better.

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