Kathleen O'Meara (Labour)

I welcome this very important debate. I acknowledge the co-operation of the Leader of the House and the Minister who has come to the House for this debate at my request. I also acknowledge the support of all Members. I have been asked to have this debate to ensure that legislators in the Seanad continue to be aware of and speak about this important and urgent matter. If we do not hear about domestic violence, it does not mean it has gone away. As other speakers have pointed out, the opposite appears to be the case. Domestic violence against women is a serious issue in our community. While assaults on individuals on the streets are reported and written about in newspapers, we do not hear as much about the equally serious assaults on women which take place behind their front doors. Until we, as a community, take full responsibility for this particular behaviour by a number of our members, we cannot hope to advance a solution.

We should not speak about domestic violence as somebody else's problem or as just the problem of the women affected. It is everyone's problem because it comes out of the community. It does not just happen. It is indicative of particular kinds of attitude, culture and tolerance. Somehow our thinking is that it is up to the women themselves to get their acts together and to get out. We ask why someone would put up with a situation in which a man was beating her up, particularly where she had children. Of course, that attitude fails to recognise the reality of the life of a woman faced with domestic violence who lives in an atmosphere of fear and abuse. Fear grips a person and prevents him or her from acting. It runs a person's life. Fear of violence, abuse or the potential involvement of children can, unsurprisingly, prevent a person from acting. For that reason, we must send out the very strong message to women in such circumstances that they are not alone.

If they have the courage to move out and take action, the necessary resources and services must be in place. There must be people there for these women to help them get on their feet and to protect them. Those resources must include a legal framework and the Garda as well as safe, secure refuges and advice centres for women. They must be provided, if necessary, with the resources to obtain barring orders. We must ask ourselves if we are supplying these resources.

Are we sending the message loudly and clearly to women that what is happening to them is not acceptable in our society? I am not sure we are. We must ask ourselves if we take the attitude that there is somehow a distinction to be made between a domestic and a non-domestic assault. Certainly, that seems to be the case in the media. There have been a few incidents in which women have come to me in circumstances of severe abuse in their homes. The vast majority of gardaí one meets in this regard are totally supportive and wish to do everything they can, but on occasion one hears from them complaints that while a woman might make a statement now, she will change her mind tomorrow and go back to the man in question the following week. They ask if one is sure the woman will go forward with the case. The attitude is that somehow a domestic assault is not the same as a criminal assault. Assault is assault and violence is always unacceptable and intolerable. We must declare zero tolerance of domestic violence once and for all. As a society, we must stop saying this is someone else's problem and acknowledge that it is everybody's responsibility.

In particular, we must insist that the supports women and families need to break the cycle of violence are put in place where and when they are required, and not next month or in ten years but now. As other speakers have pointed out, the cuts in the civil legal aid scheme are very disappointing and are having a very serious and deleterious effect. We must ensure that the legal resources are available to women in these circumstances. The schemes which have worked in the past, including the private practitioner scheme, must not be allowed to disappear. The funding which was made available through the Legal Aid Board to locate a family law solicitor in the Family Court building in Dublin meant that women could access legal aid on the spot. They could make an appointment for a legal aid application on the same day as their application for a barring order in the same building. That hugely beneficial facility unfortunately no longer exists due to funding cuts.

I recall attending court with a woman who wished to obtain a barring order. She needed moral support but she was afraid to ask anybody in her family to come with her as she did not feel there was anybody she could particularly rely on or trust. It is a harrowing and difficult experience. The atmosphere is not very supportive and I found it quite difficult myself to negotiate the system. For somebody who lives in fear and for whom it has taken all her courage to attend the court on the day, the atmosphere is not particularly supportive. Clearly, we are not doing enough.

We are not doing enough about our attitudes either. The media reflects the attitudes of society at large and I was quite disturbed at a number of articles I read in recent weeks and months. They concerned what was described as the "letting off" of women for the manslaughter of their partners in circumstances of domestic violence. The explicit message of these articles was that women were somehow being treated leniently and receiving an easier day in court than men would in similar circumstances. I hope that would never be the case. However, I was very disturbed by the message that women were receiving special treatment. I do not for one minute advocate returning violence in a violent situation, but we cannot imagine what it is like to be abused and assaulted and to have one's children put in danger. I am concerned that the messages coming from the media do not create an atmosphere in which the wider community will take full responsibility for this problem.

Many good projects are in place around the country. The issues which lead to violence in the home, violent relationships and a violent family should be examined. One would have huge concerns for children in those homes. When children see their mother being abused, unfortunately a learning situation is caused which undoubtedly leads to difficulties. It is not a normal situation and it must cause children to be angry, fearful and have issues they need to resolve in the future. Supports should be put in place for children in those situations.

There are projects in my health board area aimed at helping men to overcome violence. Violence cannot be seen as a normal way of expressing one's feelings or emotions. The question of why violence occurs must be raised rather than a purely legal response which is obviously very important in terms of how society views the crime. It is important that resources are put into examining ways of helping men to come to terms with their anger so that they can deal with their violent tendencies.

Wider society must question the reason men believe it is acceptable to beat a woman. We all live in communities where we know that some women are in difficulty. What would men say to a man whom they know is violent towards women? Would they say violence is unacceptable and intolerable or would they say nothing, ignore it and hope it goes away and never arrives on their doorstep where they would have to deal with it? Do we tolerate violence and do nothing about it? These are the questions that must be asked.

Very important points have been raised in the debate. I hope the Minister will take notice that there is a significant need for more resources such as refuges to deal with the immediate effects on and needs of women in situations of domestic violence. In some cases women may have to travel more than 50 or 60 miles to reach a refuge. This raises the issue of children being taken out of their own community and school environment. Resources should be available to ensure that refuge places are relatively easily accessible so that if women have the courage to leave home the message from society is that their situation is not normal or acceptable and that resources are available in refuges to help them deal with a major issue. They must be helped to deal with a major problem in their lives to ensure their children can grow up in a peaceful, normal family environment. The crime of violence against them should not be tolerated and should be addressed to the fullest extent.