Annie Hoey (Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is always difficult when you have to stand up and follow someone who has shared their experiences. I have been that person who shared my own experience here. I know how very difficult it is to stand up and talk about those things. They really, truly do not ever leave you and it is awful that the Senator had to do that. I thank her for taking a moment to share that with us. I certainly know that I am not alone in saying that it will give strength to other people to know they are also not alone. Sometimes when you have been a victim of something like this, you think you are alone. It is sometimes, unfortunately, incredibly useful to have people who can stand up and share their stories.

This afternoon, I am obviously thinking of Ashling Murphy and Urantsetseg Tserendorj, who both died at the hands of male violence.I am also thinking of Agnieszka T who died in Poland because of state-sanctioned violence against women and the constant tirade against reproductive health, much like Savita Halappanavar died here in Ireland when she was refused access to an abortion.

In 2021, 375 transgender people were killed and 96% of these murders, which were recorded globally, were of transfeminine women. These women were murdered for living their own truth. They are not a statistic. The report authors state that 2021, a year when we had a global lockdown, there was a pandemic and everyone was home, was the deadliest year of violence against gender-diverse people since records began. It is a very worrying statistic.

All forms of violence against women, girls, transwomen, non-binary people and fem men needs to be called out. I want to spend a few moments speaking about calling it out. When we come together as a group of parliamentarians to discuss this issue, and this has not been the first time and it will probably not be the last time that we do so, it is usually in the wake of tragedy such as the loss of Ashling. We all know that while these extreme acts of violence are far too common they are not nearly as common as microaggression. In the wake of deaths such as these there tends to be a conversation about CCTV cameras, rape whistles, personal alarms, policing numbers, public lighting and all of these things. While I appreciate the well-meaning concern that comes with this, if we are serious about tackling gender-based violence we need to tackle these microaggressions and the acceptability in Irish society of degrading, subtle, passive sexism towards women.

We all know women who have experienced some form of male violence, violation, harassment or unwanted touching. Every woman in Ireland could speak about a time they were groped walking through a bar, about how they were cat-called when out for a run and about when they were spoken to in a demeaning, and often in an aggressive way, for not engaging with unwanted commentary from a man on their appearance. We have all been in the room when someone has made an off-colour joke or comment about rape, sexual consent or even domestic violence. Those jokes are still being bandied around the place. It is awful.

The question we need to ask is whether we called it out. Sometimes we put the pressure on women to call out these things. It has been highlighted in the Chamber that we need men to call this out. Calling it out has to be part of our day-to-day lives and an everyday practice. In the same way as it is not good enough to be just not racist and we have to be actively anti-racist, the same needs to be done for sexism. Every one of the small instances of sexism forms the basis on which the system of patriarch, sexism and ultimately violence against women is built.

The Minister mentioned in her opening statement she will shortly bring into operation the Criminal Procedure Act allowing for pre-trial hearings so as to not re-traumatise victims. I am one of the people Senator Ward referenced as having stood up and shared my own story. I cannot emphasise how much the process of reporting sexual violence or rape retraumatises the victim again and again and again. I truly welcome the Minister's plan to introduce these pre-trial hearings. Under the patriarchy, which is still alive and kicking, we all suffer. The conversation today has been triggered by a senseless violent murder. If we continue to have national conversations only when exceptional events happen we will continue to miss the daily occurrences of microaggression, violence, trauma, abuse or sexism.

I am tired of going to vigils for dead women. These women had lives that had value which we as a society failed to protect. I am tired of hearing stories from friends of nights out and walking home and feeling so intimidated. I am tired of having to re-tell my own story in the hope it will give someone else the strength to come forward and have justice done for them. I get tired when women reach out to me looking for help to process their trauma to get help or to get out of a dangerous place because I am flailing around trying to help them in a system that I know is not fit for purpose for their needs. I want to live in a world where my body is my own and where I do not hear about a woman being murdered and think it could have been me, my sister or my best friend, and being grateful that it was not one of them. That is an awful thought that all women think when we hear about another woman being murdered. I want to live in a world where women experiencing sexual harassment is not the norm. Right now it is the norm. We cannot ignore the intersection of misogyny, racism, xenophobia and hate that are merging into a smelting pot of violence. Somehow, I do not know how we are going to do it, we have to break this cycle.