Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to discuss this important matter today and I thank the Dáil for allocating time.

Over the past four years since this Dáil was elected, we have worked collectively, and I hope across party lines, to address the epidemic of sexual and gender-based violence in Ireland. That is what it is: an epidemic. Through the leadership of my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, and working with TDs and Senators across these House, we have together made some real and meaningful changes.

We have made stalking a stand-alone criminal offence. We have made strangulation a stand-alone criminal offence. We have doubled the sentence for assault causing harm. We have broadened the offence of harassment and have criminalised the sharing of intimate images without consent. The Minister has established a new agency, Cuan, dedicated to implementing a zero-tolerance approach to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and we now have a statutory agency charged with this. These have been important steps, but, indeed, the events of the last two weeks have reminded us how far we still have to travel.

Over the past two weeks, we have learned of the names of Natasha O’Brien and Bláthnaid Raleigh. We have learned of their trauma and their abuse at the hands of individual men but we have also learned of the cultures embedded in aspects of our society.

I cannot address specific cases and it would be inappropriate for me to do so but I believe the events of recent weeks provide us with an opportunity to have important conversations about the kind of society we live in and want to create. That starts with all of us in leadership positions. I, as Taoiseach of this great country, am determined to lead us in that process. Next week, I will chair a Cabinet committee meeting with all the relevant Ministers and senior officials on the implementation of our national zero-tolerance strategy. Getting to zero tolerance will mean difficult moments, and we have seen that in recent weeks, because no organisation in society is immune from the challenge of gender-based violence and no one gets a pass or an opt-out on this either. How each organisation, Department and each one of us responds is how we will and should be judged.

To achieve the cultural change we desperately need, we must start with transparency and accountability. People should not fear that change. They should and must embrace it. I am always particularly conscious when I discuss this issue that I am a man. It is indeed often men who perpetrate these violent assaults on women. That is why it is incumbent on men to take leadership positions and not allow the worst of us to speak for the rest of us. Zero tolerance should mean just that: zero tolerance. That stretches to the barstools, Whatsapp groups, workplace, football clubs and newspaper columns. It sadly seems in this country that there is always someone somewhere willing to defend the character of a rapist or a sexual predator. There are still far too few people and far too few men who will stand up for the rights of a victim or speak to their good name. Often, not always but often, the character of a victim or survivor is questioned, or their actions are placed under scrutiny. What was she they wearing? How much had she to drink? Did she lead someone on? Why is she so angry? These are questions often asked about a victim in the aftermath of an assault or a violent attack. These are often somewhat innocently and definitely ignorantly posed but with long-lasting damage and trauma to the people they are posed against. These are the behaviours we all need to challenge.

Every time we see or hear misogynistic behaviour or commentary, we need to call it out. Do not stay silent. Silence can be perceived as agreement. Every time we allow these statements to pass without comment, we imply this behaviour is okay, that we are all right with it, that it is just acceptable, is just the norm and is just part of society.

I know it can be difficult to be that lone voice calling out misogyny but every time we do it, we make a difference. Every time domestic or gender abuse is seen as some private matter that happens behind closed doors and is hidden, we fail victims. We allow the voices of victims to be silent.

We must be honest about this House and about the role we play in this House too. Anonymous briefings by Members of this House, which we often read in newspapers, try to portray issues such as hate-filled crime as “woke”. When did we start using that word "woke" and when did we allow that to creep in to Irish politics? These anonymous briefings to media confirm that Members needs to change their attitude too. We cannot tackle this issue if we are divided.

We cannot tackle this issue if we make a political football out of it or decide that concern for this rests somewhere on a political spectrum. I implore all of us to unite in the face of this epidemic. If we, as representatives of the people, cannot do that, how can we expect the rest of society to do so? We need to leave our political jerseys at the door and deliver the change our children and their children deserve.

As well as being Taoiseach, I am a very proud dad to two wonderful children. I am a dad to a six-year-old daughter who is kind, considerate and brimming with optimism and curiosity. As her dad, I want to ensure she never loses that hopeful optimism that people are good and kind. I am also a proud dad to a two-year old son. While he may be younger, he is a protective already, as a brother and a son. As his dad, I want him to continue to be a caring, compassionate young man full of energy and never shy of making his voice count, as we learned in this Chamber recently. However, I am acutely conscious of the world and country in which we are raising children today. It is a world where mobile phones and social media are so accessible and overpowering at times, where sexual education can be drowned out by access to pornography and where we, as parents, often feel we lack the knowledge and expertise to keep up with our own kids and the world in which they now operate.

I am conscious we live in a country in which one in four women is subject to domestic abuse. That means there are hundreds of thousands of women and children living and growing up in an environment of fear and control. I am determined to ensure our schools and universities become safe places for children who seek a reprieve from home life. I am also determined to ensure a new generation of men and women are better informed, better educated and more determined than ever to create a zero tolerance society. When I was the Minister for further and higher education, this was something I was determined to address. I directed that a national sexual violence and harassment survey be undertaken in our higher education institutions. This shone a light on issues in quite a frightening way. I wanted to better understand the experiences of students and staff in relation to sexual violence and harassment and what effective plans we could put in place. There are now sexual violence and harassment prevention response managers in all of our higher education institutions and bystander and consent training is being rolled out across the sector.

In my new role, I will continue to prioritise a whole-of-government approach to combating all forms of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. The initiatives we are driving forward as part of this work will play a crucial role in shaping effective laws and policies. However, let me be clear; laws and policies are only part of what is needed. If we really want to achieve a society in which there is zero tolerance, we must change attitudes and social norms. This is how real and lasting change happens. It does not happen solely with a whole-of-government approach, although that is important. It needs a whole-of-society approach. Domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is not simply a criminal justice problem, although there are issues in that regard, but a societal problem. If we are to address it, changes need to be from the bottom up as well as from the top down. Everyone must step up and play their part. This is embedded in our national zero tolerance strategy which the Minister, Deputy McEntee, has championed. It stresses the importance of education and awareness-raising at all levels and across the board.

If we are to successfully change the attitudes that underpin domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, we have to confront some harsh realities. For years in this country, burying our heads in the sand was the national approach. Realities were ignored. Domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is an epidemic in Ireland. Let us begin by calling that out and accepting it is an epidemic in Ireland. It is unacceptable and must change. It is not a problem created by women and it should not be left to women to speak out against it.

I pledge today to play my part in delivering our zero tolerance strategy. That means, as an individual, rejecting, calling out and condemning the toxic behaviours which have, for far too long, permitted women in Ireland and around the world to suffer at the hands of men. I will do everything I can, now and into the future, to play an active part in changing attitudes and behaviours and helping to create a safe, respectful and equal society. All of us in this House, everyone in the country and every man in this country must pledge to do likewise. Today, we do it for the women whose names we do not know but who today suffer from domestic abuse. Today, we do it for the women who are forced to put on a brave face and get the kids to school but feel like prisoners in their own homes. I hope we can empower people to start to speak out and to talk about domestic abuse. I hope today we can make it clear to victims they are not alone and that this House, and people in this country, are on their side.

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