Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It will come as no surprise I wish to speak about Natasha O'Brien and the very brave leadership she has displayed during the past week. I am really struck by her bravery, poise and leadership on this issue, having experienced an unbelievably horrific attack. For the past week, we have all felt shock and we are only absorbing the impact of the decision to suspend, in its entirety, the sentence imposed on the person who assaulted her. Looking at Natasha O'Brien in recent days brought the bravery of Ms Lavinia Kerwick in the early 1990s to mind. She was the first person in this country to waive her anonymity and speak about being a survivor of rape. Lavinia Kerwick's decision was very brave. It was so shocking. While I was a child at the time, I remember it clearly. It was the first time rape, and how victims of rape are treated within the criminal justice system, were spoken about openly. Through her bravery, victim impact statements were introduced into the criminal law system.

We need to have a strong look at how suspended sentences are imposed. As I speak, I am very conscious of the separation of powers and how we cannot influence any decision made by judges. However, it is incumbent on us, as legislators, to look at our laws. We, as legislators, give the power to the judges to issue their discretion and to decide on sentencing. It is something we need to review. A number of jurisdictions, such as New Zealand and a number of areas within Australia, have gotten rid of suspended sentences in their entirety. I cannot see a justification for having suspended sentences in the context of a violent or sexual crime. We should look at the criteria on which judges make decisions.

We cannot get away from the fact we live in a patriarchy and that everything that happens is dependent on that patriarchy. The matter of unconscious bias is something we need to look at. We need to be providing training for people making decisions in very high, senior positions which impact others. They need to be given unconscious-bias training because they may not realise this is playing out in the decisions they are making. As a mother of a daughter, I am really concerned about the epidemic of violence in this country and the type of country she, and all the young boys and girls, are growing up in. People are out on the streets protesting. I commend the bravery of Natasha O'Brien.

While I do not have the time to touch on the Defence Forces, it is really concerning there are 20 similar cases in the Defence Forces and no one saw fit to deal with that until now. We need our male allies to come out to support us on this issue as well. Today is not the only time I will speak on this because enough is enough.