Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The findings of the CSO survey are, in many respects, deeply depressing, particularly for women and girls. They reveal a culture and society plagued by sexual violence, even at the upper end of the scale in terms of rape and non-consensual sexual contact. The survey also reveals that as a society, we have a long way to go in terms of normalising the reporting of non-consensual sexual experiences by men. It is striking that only 5% of men reported such experiences over the course of their lifetime.

Returning to the CSO survey, I note the finding that the majority of adults, that is, 78%, who experienced sexual violence at least one time in their lives knew the perpetrator, with very little difference between women, at 79% and men, at 75%. I want to place this firmly in the context of domestic violence and the appalling lack of services in my own constituency. If we are going to categorise domestic violence as physical and emotional harm against women, then the failure of this Government and previous Governments to provide women's refuge places means that a significant proportion of the blame lies at the Government's door. The lack of a women's domestic violence in Offaly and Laois for the past number of years is totally unacceptable. Women have nowhere to go and endure terrible violence.

I also want to state that if we are going to talk about violence against women, then we cannot exclude the role that something like telemedicine can play in subjecting women to forced or coerced abortions. The HSE itself implicitly acknowledged this in a reply to a parliamentary question, when it conceded that meeting the woman in person increases the likelihood of the provider identifying any coercion or domestic abuse. Such coercion is a form of violence against women and their unborn children.

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