Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The whole country was shocked by the terrible murder of Ashling Murphy, a talented young woman who accomplished so much in her short life and touched the lives of everyone she met. The tragedy of her murder is compounded by the lost potential of this gifted and popular teacher and musician. My heart goes out to her grieving parents, boyfriend, family and friends. My own constituency experienced two tragedies in the last year with the murders of Jennie Poole and Fabiole Camara De Campos. The community of Finglas was shaken by the extremely violent deaths of these two young women. Just like the community response to the murder of Ashling Murphy, the people of Finglas came out to express their grief and support for the families of the murdered women.

Women from every ethnic, cultural and social background experience domestic violence. It can come in many forms and is not always physical. Psychological abuse can be as harmful as physical abuse, especially if a woman lives under the constant threat of violence. It can also take the form of financial abuse. However, the most common form of gender-based violence is domestic violence. It is an indictment of our society that domestic abuse can remain a hidden crime as many women are reluctant to report it. Substance abuse and the excessive consumption of alcohol is also linked to domestic violence. The lockdowns and restrictions have almost certainly led to increased instances of domestic violence. It is a horrific scenario where a woman in an abusive relationship is trapped with the perpetrator of the violence and abuse during lockdowns. There is an onus on men to confront and challenge men's violence against women, in particular the casual, everyday harassment of women. What we are teaching about such issues is not working and needs to change. There are supports available for women from groups such as SAFE Ireland, Women's Aid, rape crisis centres and the Rape Crisis Network. However, it is sad to say that these supports are only necessary because violence against women continues and will continue until men, the predominant perpetrators of such acts of violence, address their behaviour, and society addresses the ingrained prejudice against women so prevalent in everyday life.

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