Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

At the time Fine Gael did not see how it could work. It was worried about the complexities of it. Senators and advocacy bodies had to keep fighting to ensure coercive control was included. It has been shown and we now understand why it is so necessary for it to be in the legislation. Thinking about gender-based violence in general, the 3Arena has sold out only this week for an event people will pay lots of money to attend, to see someone who we know is a domestic abuser on stage singing. That same audience will criticise, judge and have a say on matters such as the recent attack on influencer Charlene Murphy who was attacked when she was out having dinner after she had been targeted with online abuse for weeks. We have a society that ignores domestic violence when a talented charismatic, good-looking man is the perpetrator. We ignore it. We support him and turn a blind eye. We even do so in our friend groups, families and communities. We have friends who we know and we observe to be engaging in coercive control. We need to ensure that when they get to the courts system, people are fully protected. I agree with Senator Ward about the hierarchy of rights, that people should not be allowed to cross-examine the person who has accused them. We have had to work hard to remove that from other places too. In the Family Courts, there was a push towards mediation and with regard to solicitors. We had to win an amendment in the last Seanad. The Government tried to make it mandatory to use mediation before moving on to see a solicitor. That was being written into legislation.Thankfully, it is not in legislation now. This is another part of it. As well as legislation such as this, some sort of public campaign is needed for people to understand what coercive control is and what it means for people's lives to even get to the point where they will go to court. If we will not hold people accountable in our lives, communities and spaces, how do we think a victim will think a court of law will hold somebody accountable, if their own family and friends do not hold the perpetrator accountable? We need to have conversations along those lines.

Refuges need investment, but we also need to acknowledge that the refuges are saying they have nowhere to move people on. Whether it is hotel accommodation, which is not ideal or being able to access housing through the housing assistance payment, HAP, system, through the county council, there is no progression for people to move into the refuge and on to safe accommodation, where they can rebuild their lives and families. Investing in refuges is one part, but we need to radically address the fact that we do not have accommodation for people who are fleeing domestic violence to be able to move into long term.

I welcome this legislation. It is very important. Somebody cross-examining a person who has accused them of coercive control is the State handing the abuser another way to coercively control. That is us giving the person a platform to coercively control in a court of law. I have supported people and have experience of coercive control. People have got off buses when they have seen somebody who even looks like the person who coercively controlled them; they get such a fright. Imagine having to go into a court of law, when one spends one's whole day trying to avoid people and the abuser gets the leisure to question and retraumatise that person. That is facilitated by the State. The legislation is very important, but we must remember that it sits in a suite of things we need to do, to radically address domestic violence in this country. I thank the Green Party.