Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her response and for outlining all the actions the Government has been taking. I also thank her for telling her story about what happened today. Well done. She is right that such behaviour absolutely needs to be reported. A key point she raised is that for too long only half the population have been having this conversation. Girls and women know this reality inside out. We need structures and resources to help men have these necessary discussions.

Domestic violence and sexual assaults are perpetrated by friends, colleagues and team-mates. Inappropriate behaviours and harassment need to be challenged by both genders. For example, University College Cork's bystander intervention programme is a very impressive initiative that gives people the tools to recognise and safely act in response to those kind of everyday situations, such as the one the Minister of State highlighted. This programme is being implemented in other universities, but it is the type of training we need for sports clubs, community organisations, and professional bodies. The Government should look at providing the instruments for men to have these conversations.

I have to come back to the work of support organisations such as West Cork Women Against Violence. It is an organisation run on a shoestring budget and yet provides an incredible range of assistive and life-saving services in many instances. It helps women and children exit dangerous situations, it has a helpline, it offers court and professional appointment accompaniment, its members are advocates, and it has outreach clinics and training programmes for young people and adults, because we all need to learn about these issues. This is the work being done by just one organisation, which is replicated by regional and national bodies throughout the country. Imagine what they could do with proper Government funding. There is already a network of organisations on the ground that are known and trusted by highly vulnerable people. I cannot emphasise enough the importance of the Minister of State working directly with those organisations to engage with them, fund them, and trust them and the difference they make every single day.

The Minister of State spoke about how we are seeing people report these crimes more and more and how good that is from a generational perspective but, to take cases of rape as an isolated example outside all other gender-based violence, less than 1% of victims get justice. Even though we have moved some bit forward, it is important for us to recognise how far we have to go. The figure is less than 1%.

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