Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Two weeks ago, Ashling Murphy went out for a run along the canal in Tullamore. It was the start of the new year for the talented musician and much-loved beautiful young woman. She never made it home. Ashling's tragic and horrific death shocked the nation. I wish to convey my deepest sympathy to Ashling's family; her partner, Ryan; her friends; her colleagues; her pupils; and the community in which she was so loved and had an active part. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam dílis.

Ashling's death did indeed stun the country. It also brought us together to say that enough is enough and violence and abuse of women will not be tolerated anymore. Where we see it or hear it, we should call it out. We should call out whoever is involved in it. Whether that abuse or threat is in the workplace, in a person's home or online, we should it call the abuse out. I agree with the Taoiseach that it is time for a zero-tolerance approach to violence against women.

When I attended Ashling's funeral in St. Brigid's Church, close to her home in County Offaly last week, I was struck by the little notes placed alongside the candles in the nearby community centre which recalled Ashling in all her brilliance, youth, happiness and talent. The commitment of friends and fellow musicians was so evident at her funeral. I will never forget the tearful faces of the players, strumming on the guitar or playing the bosca ceoil, united in grief on that cold morning at the cross in Mountbolus as Ashling's remains passed. Scores of musicians later attended the graveside where she was buried. That moment showed how Irish rural communities rally round each other when there is pain or suffering.

Equally, as a society we can build support to ensure that violence against women ends. Violence against women is not a string of random, freak or isolated events. They are frightening to hear about and it is perhaps more comforting to think of them as individual. However, we will never move to a truly equal society until we admit the depth, breadth and pattern of gender-based violence. Whether in the most private or public of settings, the fact is that women and girls are less safe. As the House knows, work is progressing on a new whole-of-government strategy to combat domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. Work by the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, is nearing conclusion. The crux of the strategy is what we talked about: zero tolerance of violence against women. There are legislative improvements, too. The commencement of the Domestic Violence Act 2018 on 1 January 2019 created significant improvements, including the creation of the offence of coercive control. The Minister of Justice also prioritised the enactment of Coco's Law, which outlawed image-based sexual abuse, and she is committed to working on a Bill creating new criminal offences for stalking, an area on which Senator Chambers is also working. However, preventing abusive behaviour also requires an end to certain attitudes held by men. Misogyny in our society must stop. There is no easy way to end domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. It will take a combination of new, well-resourced services, robust legislation, fresh thinking, dynamic new strategies and above all, education and awareness.

Briefly, I will outline areas that I am progressing under my responsibility as Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. In relation to the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill, an online safety commissioner will devise safety codes to ensure services minimise the availability of harmful content. This includes reducing the availability of criminal content that disproportionately hurts women, such as image-based abuse, revenge porn, threatening content and harassment, and reducing the availability of material used to bully or humiliate people. In relation to the protection of women in the arts, my Department recently funded the Irish Theatre Institute's report on bullying and harassment, Speak Up: A Call for Change. It found that 70% of those surveyed in the arts experienced some type of harm, including sexual harassment or assault, and women were three and a half times more likely to experience sexual harassment than men. In response, the allocation of public funds in arts agencies will now be in line with work safety and reporting rules. Counselling has also been extended for artists and work-based training has been improved. My Department is also funding vulnerability training courses in the night-time economy. The objective of six recent courses was to enable workers in the night-time economy to identify issues around vulnerability management and violence against women. Hundreds of staff across 70 venues took part and training was delivered with the support of An Garda Síochána, vintners groups and practitioners in night culture, such as Give Us The Night.

Whatever sphere of life violence enters through, it pierces the heart of every corner of life. One woman described it to me:

[It is] a source of great pain that it happened to me when I was a young woman. That scar never gets to truly heal over. It opens every time I hear of another woman who has been raped, assaulted or worse. The edges widen when that violence is diminished.

Tá mná agus cailíní ag éisteacht liom inniu atá ag fulaingt de bharr foréigin agus fanann sé leo ar feadh a saolta. Is iad ár máithreacha, ár n-iníonacha, ár ndeirfiúracha agus ár gcairde. Tá sé i ngach réimse den saol agus i ngach cearn den tír agus cibé áit atá sé, tá daoine ciaptha agus céasta dá bharr. Equality for women and girls, as our end goal, must start with the elimination of violence that has a basis in gender.

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