Shane Cassells (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I express my thanks to Senator Chambers, and to Senators McGreehan and Fitzpatrick, for bringing forward this Bill. In her remarks Senator Chambers set out the horrific examples of just two victims. The Senator put this on the record of the House for people to hear and listen to. As the Senator said, does the word "harassment" from a legal standpoint adequately cover what she has documented here: the continued and pointed stalking of these particular victims to the point where the man turns up with a rape kit, clearly intent on causing exceptional harm to that victim?

This morning we met Una and Eve. I was the only man in the room when we met. The testimony of the particular cases that led to the convictions of the perpetrators was scary. It was most unsettling to hear the conversation within the room that was sparked among my female Fianna Fáil parliamentary colleagues as a result of listening to the testimony. It just happened naturally and the conversation sparked and flowed around their fears and their apprehensions in society in general. I do not know how I felt but "uncomfortable" is probably one adjective I would use. It felt uncomfortable to sit there and hear my colleagues speak so openly, it just flowed out, about the fear and anxiety they live with and deal with from having such heightened awareness when they go out in the evening time, and their feeling on edge if they are alone and walking. That is no way to live. I found it shocking. Perhaps I should have been more attuned but I found it shocking to see that fear in the eyes of my colleagues and for them to have that fear as women.

As Senator McGreehan said, women are conditioned that way and it is even more shocking that society has led this and actually stood back and allowed that to happen. When my 12-year-old daughter becomes 18 years of age I do not want her to have those same fears and anxieties that I listened to today, or that she would feel conditioned to have to act in a certain way when she goes out at night or that she would have to carry keys in her hand to be on guard for an assailant or a perpetrator. If we are perturbed by this and if we find this abhorrent then there are steps we must take, and of course the starting point is the national Legislature and the law. As Senator Chambers pointed out, however, the law is not adequate to deal with it.

It was shocking to hear the two women say that when they were coming here today they were left here by a taxi man who told them they should have no problem in terms of dealing with it. It was nearly the attitude of "aren't they lovely girls". Society is wrong. The law needs to change to reflect that and to change attitudes. Senator Chambers also referred to the Garda response, which in some instances was exemplary and it is very important to point this out. In other instances, however, it is not because there is no law there to adequately deal with this issue. Gardaí are only dealing with what they have before them. When dealing with a case we are hoping that there is enough empathy from the members of the force who deal with these complaints to actually take it seriously to begin with. This is not consistent.

It is important that the men in this Chamber and in the Dáil Chamber speak out. There was a significant lack of men tonight but I pay tribute to those who were here to speak. It is not just a female issue: men are at the heart of what is wrong. It is important that men speak out. It is also important that men would listen to and hear what is being said, and to hear what I heard today, that is, the fear in my colleagues' voices. It shook me all day. It was not just the testimony of the victims, it was also the voices of women in general and the colleagues we have here in this Chamber. It is incumbent on us to listen to them. We are not here just to change the law, we are here to change attitudes as well, and words matter.