Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

What has become very clear since the horrific murder of Ashling Murphy last week is that practically every woman has a story to tell. Women have been speaking out bravely on the radio during the past week and have been recounting incidents of abuse, assault, rape, being groped, degraded or followed. The list goes on. This is women of all ages and all backgrounds. Disturbingly, some girls who were still in school recounted incidents of inappropriate touching or behaviour within the school community. Most of these instances go unreported. Tragically, since 1996, some 244 women, and many more before that date, are not here to tell their stories. The vast majority of them were killed by someone known to them, and in many cases by their current or former partner. Every time I hear about another woman being killed in her own home or out on the street like Ashling, it makes me sad for her and her family, but it also makes me really angry that some men feel that they can do what they want, when they want and to whom they want and often without repercussion.

Radical change is needed across a number of areas, including the Garda's approach to reports of domestic violence and the ludicrous sentences that many perpetrators of violence against women receive, because if it is not dealt with it gives the message that women's lives do not matter. Sex education in schools must encompass healthy relationships and the meaning of consent and mutual respect. Proper funding of domestic refuges is critical. More than 800 women were turned away from refuges last year. There are nine counties without refuges, including the two I represent, namely, Cavan and Monaghan. The refuges provide an excellent service but they do so on a shoestring. We are not living up to our commitments under the Istanbul Convention. We need one Minister to deal with this issue. I welcome the strategy, but if it is not properly resourced and funded, it is not worth the paper it is written on. Change was enacted very quickly after the horrific murder of Veronica Guerin. The same needs to happen now.

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