Nessa Cosgrove (Labour)

Like many of my fellow Senators have said, today is International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Al Jazeera reported last week that nearly one third of women worldwide have faced sexual or partner violence. One in three women in Ireland has experienced domestic abuse, and 277 women have died violently in Ireland since 1996. While certain cases hit the headlines – the murder of Ashling Murphy springs to mind, as does that of Stella Gallagher in Cork last week – most cases do not make the news or come to the public’s attention.Last year gardaí were called to 65,000 incidents of domestic abuse. That is 1,250 every week. Horrendous as these figures are, they do not even come close to the true scale of the problem. It is thought that only 40% of victims seek any kind of help. Violence comes not only from strangers but usually from those closest to women. Then, these brave women when they are strong enough to seek help, need to be strongly supported by our State. Survivors need to be protected during the court processes and defence teams should never be allowed access to counselling notes during gender violence cases. We need action by the State. We need to resource our gardaí so that abusers are removed from the family homes. Why is it that still in 2025, and why was it ever the case, that women and children who are being abused typically have to leave their homes when it is their abuser that should be removed? For those who do leave, easier access to the rent supplement scheme for people fleeing domestic violence is a very welcome development since 2020. Unfortunately, a rent supplement scheme does not help those who cannot find accommodation at all. There are still nine counties, including my own area in Sligo-Leitrim, that do not have a refuge space. People are given temporary refuge or safe spaces for women and children in other counties. Of course, the whole situation is getting worse so there are gaps in the services within those counties.

With 35% of women experiencing some form of intimate violence in their lifetime we need to consider the wider and more systemic issues. That is why it is important to welcome this international day and this week. This evening at 6:30 p.m. in Sligo, North West Mothers for Social Justice will be holding a vigil to highlight and demand an end to the violence against women. Some of these groups have events happening all over the country.