Charles Ward (Donegal, 100% Redress Party)

As we know, today is International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. It is unbelievable that worldwide a woman is killed every ten minutes by an intimate partner or family member. Although we may think Ireland is a progressive country, femicide continues to take the lives of many women and girls across our country with no sign of any real progress. A total of 35% of women in Ireland have experienced abuse from an intimate partner. That is more than one in three, which is well above the EU average of 31.8%. The North of Ireland is one of the most dangerous places in Europe to be a woman, which is shocking. Research from Ulster University has shown that 98% of women in the North have experienced at least one form of violence or abuse in their lifetime, with half experiencing this before the age of 11. There needs to be an all-island approach to address this.

Passing this Bill would mean that the court would impose a restraining order against those convicted of a crime involving sexual violence and the victims would be protected. This is a very important step in ensuring that victims of sexual violence feel safe after experiencing such traumatic events.

We need to go much further in addressing the root of this. The root of this is men. Men need to do better. They have a part to play in this and they need to take collective responsibility for addressing misogyny. The Government needs to take responsibility and hold social media companies to account for the rise in misogynistic and super-masculine content on social media. This is negatively influencing young men and boys. We need to support women in a way that makes them feel special and looked after in their daily lives.

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