Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Nothing happens in a vacuum. The significant increase in the number of victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, particularly since Covid-19, is staggering. This has come following a rise of misogyny, which is spreading and radicalising our young boys and men. We are facing a very serious crisis here. It feels like we, as a society, are going backwards. It seems like misogynist views and language are used more frequently and are often deemed more acceptable today than ten years ago. Sadly, I can think of multiple examples of gender-based violence and of misogynist views gaining traction in the media in the last year alone. The rise of alpha-male mega-influencers and platforms facilitating male supremacist content and misogynistic views is very worrying.

There is no doubt that this is contributing significantly to the prevalence of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence in Ireland and across the globe. Disturbingly, 2022 was the deadliest year of the decade for women in Ireland. Despite the immense public outrage against gender-based violence following the murder of Ashling Murphy early last year, the death toll of women killed in violent circumstances in 2022 was the highest in ten years.

The Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Agency Bill 2023 is long overdue and I am glad that we are finally seeing the establishment of an agency with responsibility for co-ordinating Government actions to tackle domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, including the delivery of services to victims and increasing the availability of emergency accommodation. Unfortunately, this is too little too late. This agency should have been established a decade ago, given our lack of a comprehensive State-wide domestic violence service and serious lack of data.

I was shocked to learn that the last national survey on domestic violence against women and men in Ireland was conducted in 2005. We can assume that numbers have gone up, as the number of calls to respond to domestic abuse incidents from An Garda Síochána have risen significantly and this year’s CSO statistics on sexual violence show that 52% of women experience sexual violence in their lifetime. I was also shocked to learn of the increased pressure being felt by organisations, such as Safe Ireland which could not meet 808 requests for refuge due to a lack of space over four months in 2020.

I welcome this legislation today. I gladly participated in the Joint Committee on Justice's prelegislative scrutiny, along with many fantastic organisations with expertise in the field. I was particularly glad that men's organisations were involved in the discussions, as it is extremely important that we are honest and proactive in addressing the root causes of this issue, which, most often, is men and toxic masculinity.

Violence against women by men unfortunately accounts for most domestic, sexual and gender-based violence incidents. I raised the point that the need to specifically engage boys and men should be placed on a statutory footing in this legislation to ensure efforts are taken to address the root causes of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and to implement prevention mechanisms. I was very disappointed with the Department's response that "it is not considered necessary or appropriate for the legislation to 'single out' men or boys in this manner. The Department is not aware of a comparable legislative precedent and would be concerned that such a provision could be interpreted as unduly discriminatory or stigmatising." Surely it is more stigmatising and discriminating for women who are being attacked, and the violence being perpetrated by men, unfortunately.

I strongly believe it would be wrong to establish an agency that focuses solely on incidents and victims, which are predominantly women, and that ignores root causes and the perpetrators, which are predominantly men. We cannot expect women to fix this issue. The change has to come from men.

The agency should have a particular focus on engaging men and boys in an attempt to combat the rise of misogyny, in particular, digital misogyny. There have been numerous reports that show online incel culture and digital misogyny are on the rise and the agency should be tasked with developing a programme aimed at engaging men and boys with a specific focus on how patriarchal attitudes and stereotypes are being spread via social media. Mx Daire Dempsey, education officer at Transgender Equality Network Ireland, in response to this, said the online and social media factor is very important and that for prevention work to be relevant and make an impact, it must reach young people where it is happening.

I also raised my concerns at prelegislative scrutiny regarding the reported rise in sexual assault among children nationally. There was a 50% increase in victims under the age of 16 in Donegal last summer, after which the Donegal Rape Crisis Centre was forced to reduce the age of those who can access its services to 12, following an application for funding to "The Late Late Toy Show" appeal. That, in itself, says a lot about where such bodies have to get funding to deal with some of the issues.

It is extremely concerning to hear reports that there has also been a rise of cases in which physical violence accompanies sexual violence, and a rise in cases with more than one perpetrator.

Due to the significant rise in cases of victims under the age of 16, there should also be a focus on the provision of services to victims under the age of 18 under the functions of the agency. Therefore, I will finish by asking the Minister whether the agency will have the ability to provide services and support to those under the age of 18, as well as adults, because that is vitally important. It is a failure in this legislation that they do not identify men and work on targeting the causes and the perpetrators of the violence as well.

See this speech in context