Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Last Tuesday week, I attended an event in Manorhamilton, County Leitrim, which had been organised in the previous 48 hours simply to respond to the sentence handed down to the man convicted of brutally assaulting Natasha O'Brien. About 200 men, women and children turned up at very short notice. They recognised that gender-based violence has become an epidemic and has seeped into the lives of so many women, children and some men. The men are fewer than women but they are still there. They recognise, as we do, that it is no longer something that is out there. It is in here. It is next door. It is in our families. It is in this House.

The people at that event were saying "No more" to gender-based violence but they were saying more than that. They were saying they need to see real meaningful change in how our judicial system operates. While it is important to say that there are many in our judicial system who are highly supportive of victims, we still have some significant gaps when it comes to appropriate training for judges and for others regarding the impact of trauma on victims of gender-based violence and how for some victims and survivors, experience of the judicial system, or at least some part of it, has been a form of re-victimisation and retraumatisation.

These people believe, as I do, that we need an urgent review of sentencing guidelines by the Judicial Council. Like many of the thousands who turned up at different events throughout the country, their message to politicians is straightforward. It is to make the judicial system a safe, secure place for victims of gender violence, increase funding to domestic violence advocacy services, improve supports for victims of domestic violence and sexual and gender-based violence. On a more systemic and societal level, they are asking that we examine the influences that are leading to the increase in gender-based violence and to implement the necessary political and cultural changes required to reduce and tackle the scourge that is damaging and destroying so many families and lives. For me personally, the cultural aspect is centre stage.

While I recognise that some good work has been done, I say once again that in the part of the country that I represent, namely, Sligo, Leitrim, and north Roscommon, there is no women's refuge. I acknowledge that the Minister is working on a domestic violence refuge in Sligo but progress is slow and I ask that it be speeded up. We also need to see plans for a refuge in Leitrim. It is equally as important. The Istanbul Convention itself speaks about the fact that we need at least one family refuge place per 10,000 members of the population. That means that we need about 512 refuge places nationally and the Minister's plan, I believe, is for 280 places by 2026. We need to increase those and to ensure that counties like Leitrim are included.

Finally, a refuge is crucial but it is but a tiny piece of the jigsaw puzzle. We need all of the services for the 95% of victims and their families who will never go to a refuge centre and organisations like the Domestic Violence Advocacy Service, DVAS, in Sligo-Leitrim are just excellent at providing those services. I hope to see extra resources in budget 2025.

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