Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Annie Lennox sang four short and yet immeasurably powerful lines to encompass perfectly the grief of victims of sexual and violent assaults:

And so I face the wall

Turn my back against it all

How I wish I'd been unborn

Wish I wasn't living

What some people fail to understand is that the consequences and repercussions for those who experience a violent assault are multifaceted. Physical wounds will heal eventually, albeit leaving nasty permanent scars, but psychological wounds remain open, sore and exposed. More often than not, the right balm to soothe the psychic wound cannot be found and it continues to ooze throughout a person's life, manifesting in multifaceted anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorders. The scale of the damage inflicted varies from one victim to the next, depending on the level of depravity.

For Ashling's grieving family and her boyfriend Ryan, today's statements are only words. An irreplaceable light has been extinguished in their lives. Meanwhile, a spotlight has been shone on this House, not just to sympathise but to act and to deliver. As I said last week, this unspeakable tragedy simply must be a catalyst for change. As the Ceann Comhairle knows, I have never been afraid of challenging the status quo, as a woman and for women, even if it meant starting uncomfortable conversations or debates. On occasion, I have been made fun of because of my outspoken views, whether they be on the status of women within the Catholic Church or, more recently, on challenging society's attitudes towards gender equality. There have been points throughout my political career when I have been accused by men, both inside and outside this House, of not understanding matters of equality and I have been mansplained to about gender equality. Like many women, I have been forced to bite my tongue for fear of being judged too shrill but that stops today. The reality is that part of the exercise of implementing some of the changes which have been correctly and admirably put forward here today is not just about listening to what women need and want; it is also about ensuring that women are present at decision-making tables right across society.

While it is true that some men might be able to understand the issues facing women, there is not one man among us who will physically feel the same shame, guilt, anxiety or sheer worthlessness that we are made to feel at times. I know what it is like to say "No" but for it to fall on deaf ears. I know what it is like to be made to feel inferior. I know what it is like to feel like prey. We are the hunted, conditioned for decades to change our route home, to text when safely home or in the taxi, to not walk alone in the dark and to dress appropriately so as not to attract unwanted attention. This has to stop. Women did not create this culture and it therefore follows that the onus should not fall on women alone to solve it. It falls to each and every one of us in this House and not just those of us who have been shouting the loudest; not just those of us who still believe there are some misogynistic articles in our Constitution which must be amended; not those of us who have repeatedly called for our family court system to be upgraded and for our criminal justice system to be improved, as well as having more robust legislation around sentencing; not just those of us who demanded that this House establish a special Oireachtas committee on gender equality; not just those of us who worked to support Safe Ireland and Airbnb to provide emergency refuge spaces to women escaping instances of domestic violence at the height of the pandemic; and not just those of us who regularly participate around meeting tables or speaking chambers with men, men and more men. We know full well what being in a minority is like, to wear that invisible brooch of inequality every single day. I do not just understand the concept of inequality and discrimination; I live it every single day, along with every other woman in this House.

Make no mistake; I am seething. I am not prepared to sit on my hands and listen to words. As a female public representative, I can call for increased action but as a woman, I am demanding it. There is too much at stake. We have reached a tipping point. It is long past time.

See this speech in context