Tom Clonan (Independent)

I support Senator Ryan and the amendment she has brought forward. It is a reminder of how intimate gender-based violence is and how the family is often the locus of this type of gender-based violence in our society. We have a serious endemic and persistent problem with gender-based violence. This struck me as I listened to the Senator.

I grew up in a matriarchal household with three sisters and my mum. My granny also lived with us. Now I am a proud father of a daughter. She is 21 and working in Corfu for the summer. One of my recurring fears relates to the steps she has to take to protect herself. When she was 15 or 16, I used to beep the horn at her when I would pass by. One evening she said, "Don't beep the horn at me". I asked was it so embarrassing because I was her dad and she said it was because men beep the horn at her all the time. She said that she and her friends wear earphones. They might not be listening to music but if someone beeps their horn or makes a comment, they do not have to look respond. My daughter will not use the DART because she tells me that the stations are dangerous. If something happens on a DART carriage there is nowhere to turn. She takes the bus because if something happens at least she can scream at the driver and get them to stop the bus. My sons are bouncing around the place living their best lives. They do not live in the same space that my daughter does. What Senator Ryan has shared is so important because this is a significant problem that we have. I support her amendment and the Bill. In what is a patriarchal and paternalistic society, we have to do everything in our power to signal that we have zero tolerance for domestic abuse. I express my support for and solidarity with the Senator.