Kathleen Funchion on domestic violence, coercive control and refuges
Kathleen Funchion spoke on International Women's Day about domestic violence, coercive control and gaps in refuge provision, urging faster prosecutions and greater awareness. She highlighted rising domestic abuse incidents attended by Angarda Siakon and warned of a lack of local refuge spaces, notably in Carlow.
Opening remarks
The speaker opened by congratulating Deputy Karen on her new role and reiterated solidarity with women affected by the war in Ukraine, noting reports of rape and sexual assault used as weapons of warfare.
Domestic abuse statistics and reporting
She cited figures showing domestic abuse incidents attended by Angarda Siakon rose to 54,000 in 2022, up from 50,000 in 2021 and 44,500 in 2020, and stressed these are only the incidents reported to the Gardaí. She warned that many cases never reach reporting or prosecution and commended the protective services unit of the Gardaí, women's refuges and organisations such as Women's Aid and Safe Ireland for their work.
Refuge provision and county gaps
The speaker welcomed plans for refuges earmarked in 2024 for Wexford, Dundalk and Offaly but drew attention to the ongoing absence of a women's refuge in Carlow. She described how women may remain in dangerous situations because travel from Amber in Kilkenny to Carlow is difficult for those needing to keep jobs or get children to school, and urged better prioritisation of counties without refuges.
Coercive control definition and convictions
She raised concern about public awareness of coercive control and referenced section 39 of the Act, which defines controlling behaviour and coercive control as knowingly and persistently engaging in behaviour that causes fear of violence or serious alarm or distress. She noted there have been seven convictions under the provision in four years and called that outcome devastating.
Calls for faster prosecutions and support
The speaker argued the legal and court processes are too slow from report to arrest to prosecution, making it harder for survivors to move on, and urged improvements in speeding up prosecutions and expanding refuge capacity to better protect women and children.
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First of all, I want to say I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak on this today. Also, I actually haven't had the opportunity, I haven't actually seen Deputy Karen since she was elevated to her new position, so I just want to take the opportunity to say congratulations and wish her the very best of luck with the role as well. Last year, on International Women's Day, the war in Ukraine had just started about a week or two previously, and it is difficult to imagine that a full 12 months on, the war is still raging with no end in sight. Last year, I started my contribution on International Women's Day by sending solidarity to women who had fled here with their families, and I just want to reiterate that again, and also, as we unfortunately know, there are reports of rape and widespread sexual assault that are used regularly as weapons of warfare, not just against Ukrainian women, but wherever we do see war, and to personally, as we have seen in history, sexual violence is not merely the action of rogue soldiers, but it is a deliberate tactic of warfare. There is an awful lot that we can say today on International Women's Day, there is a lot to be celebrated and commended, you know, the acknowledgement of how far, I suppose, things have come. However, I want to particularly concentrate my remarks on the area of domestic violence, sexual assault, and coercive control. So, we know from the statistics that domestic abuse incidents attended by Angarda Siakon increased to a staggering 54,000 in 2022, which was up from 50,000 in 2021 and 44,500 in 2020. And I suppose just to say that these are the incidents that we know about that are actually, you know, phoned in to the Gardaí, a lot of people don't do that, as we know, and also, I think it doesn't, unfortunately, reflect the amount of cases that are brought to court and that are then prosecuted. I do know that there is some really excellent people doing fantastic work, particularly in our protective services unit of the Gardaí, and I want to commend them today, and our women's refugees, as well, and women's aid, Safe Ireland. But the process, I would say, is far too slow in terms of when somebody reports an incident to the potential arrest of that person, to then going on to if there is going to be a court case. And you can actually understand, when you get a glimpse into that world, why women don't report, because it's very difficult to move on with your life. If you've been in this situation, you come out of this situation, you make a report, and it's dragging on for years at a time. So, I just think we do need to see a lot more being done in terms of the actual prosecution, the speeding up of that process. I also want to touch on something that we became aware of last week, to a parliamentary question, that there seems to be places earmarked for refuge in 2024, Wexford, Dundalk and Offaly, and I obviously welcome that. However, Carlow is still without a women's refuge, and that campaign has been ongoing for some time now. There is actually no refuge at all in Carlow, and we have a fantastic facility in Amber, in Kilkenny, but they are trying to facilitate both Carlow and Kilkenny. And you will see situations where women won't leave a very horrific, really, really dangerous situation, because if you have to try and get to your job, if you're working, or get your children to school, and there's often children involved, and you're trying to travel from Kilkenny to Carlow without transport, it's very, very difficult. And I was disappointed to see that we weren't higher on the list, and that there isn't a way of actually looking at all of the counties that don't have refuges, and trying to prioritise them for spaces. So, I just want to actually touch a little bit on the coercive control as well, because there was a recent study, and I forget now who it was done by, but basically it was actually really shocking to see the amount of, particularly women, that don't understand what coercive control is, and don't understand, I suppose, maybe that they're potentially in that situation. And I just think whenever we have the opportunity in this House to raise awareness of it, and to talk about it, we should do that. So, section 39 of the Act defines the parameters of controlling behaviour and coercive control. It says that an offence is committed under this section if a person knowingly and persistently engages in behaviour that has a serious effect on a person, that said person would have a fear of violence being used against them, or that this behaviour would cause serious alarm or distress that has an impact on their day-to-day life. We've had seven convictions in four years. That's it. I mean, that's actually, I don't even know what the words are, but it's devastating to think that that's where we're at. I think I'm coming up on my time. Yeah, okay, so I will leave it at that. Thanks.
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