Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister, Deputy Harris, for being with us in the Chamber to discuss this very important issue. As we all know and acknowledge, violence against women is endemic not only in Ireland but around the world. It has to be seen as a human rights issue. We have seen high-profile murders in recent years that have brought these issues front and centre. They have stopped society in its tracks. They have shocked all of us. In a way these brutal murders enabled women to speak about their fears. The deaths of women through acts of violence forced society to face the reality that so many women live through. We now need society and the political system to address these fears urgently and comprehensively, and take an honest look at how the system responds and meets the needs of women.

As legislators we have a duty to act and do everything we can to ensure we put in place the strongest possible legislative responses and proper resources. There is absolutely no doubt that action is required. According to Women's Aid, there have been 256 instances in which women have died since 1996 and in which 20 children also died. Of these women, 163 were killed in their own homes and 87% were killed by a man known to them. One in every two femicide victims is killed by a current or former male intimate partner. The numbers do not lie. The numbers are shocking but, unfortunately, not surprising. Of course the problem extends beyond the harrowing statistics of unlawful killing. Violence against women happens in many forms and, sadly, the scale is extensive. Most assaults on women, as we know, go unreported. Many women are harassed as they go about their daily lives, with most harassment going unchallenged. More women live under intimidation and control behind doors and in silence.

Senator Casey spoke about Nadine Lott. Not too long ago at the Fianna Fáil Ard-Fheis, I joined Jennifer Poole's brother Jason on a panel discussion on this very issue. He spoke very movingly, as he has done many times, about the horrific trauma his family suffered when Jennifer's life was taken. The main reason we had this conversation was to ensure that a register of domestic abuse offenders would be established. One of the most shocking aspects of Jennifer's story is the fact that her murderer had been jailed for more than two years for attacking his former partner with a knife. If there was a domestic violence register, in the same way as there is a sexual abuser register, there is no doubt that Jennifer would be alive today. Once again, and this is my most important message for the Minister today, I call for the establishment of a domestic violence register in this country.

Violence against women is not an issue facing only us in Ireland. It is international issue. It is an issue on which we had an opportunity to speak at the Council of Europe. My male colleagues have spoken from a male perspective and I completely appreciate their views and their support. One of my colleagues in the Council of Europe, Petra Stienen, has authored a report on how men and boys can be agents of change in confronting gender-based violence. This is not a women's issue for women to solve. It is a societal issue for society to solve. Men and boys can play a very important role in combating gender-based violence by being agents of change and speaking out against all of these harmful practices, acting as role models and challenging sexism. This has to be recognised as a global human rights issue. I believe we are moving in the right direction on this issue but we still have much to do.