Bríd Smith Demands Urgent Action on Gender Violence Reforms
Bríd Smith addressed the minister on delays in implementing reforms to tackle gender-based violence, urging concrete timelines and systemic change. She criticised slow progress since Aisling Murphy's murder, highlighted failures in refuges and court procedures, and called for sex education reform and better protections for transgender people.
Urgency on timelines
Bríd Smith said it has been over two years since Aisling Murphy's murder and warned that promised measures lack clear timelines. She said there has been no visible improvement in refuge spaces and pressed the minister on when concrete changes will arrive.
Court procedures and re-traumatisation
Smith criticised current court practices, saying rape victims still must hand over therapy and counselling notes to the perpetrator. She described that practice as cruel and re-traumatising and argued the judiciary's approach and mentality need education or reform.
Education and transgender violence
She urged rapid reform of sex education in schools to include consent and better biological understanding. Smith cited higher levels of transgender-targeted violence, saying transgender people are about four times more likely to experience such violence and that roughly 13% report physical or sexual assault or threats, compared with an 8% EU average. She also noted that over 80% of transgender violence and sexual violence is carried out by partners or ex-partners.
Cuts, community impact and the Cherry Orchard report
Smith referenced the report Unveiling the Shadows, commissioned in Cherry Orchard after local campaigning by Councillor Hazel de Nortoone. She said austerity-era cuts to family support, addiction and youth services – reductions cited at 50%, 60% and 80% – were never fully restored and that the area lacks the wraparound supports needed for children and survivors.
Policy proposals and tribute
Smith proposed that the family home should be the refuge, with perpetrators forced to exit the household, noting the State has delivered roughly half of what the Istanbul Convention outlines. She paid tribute to Councillor de Nortoone and the brave women campaigning to change the culture and end gender-based violence.
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I think it has become obvious that courage is a contagious feature of humanity and the courage that these women have shown hopefully will have more contagion for those who are victims of gender-based violence, rape, etc. and allow them to speak out. I heard earlier on the explanation you gave for all that has been done and it certainly sounds very impressive, but I think there is a problem with not having timelines given to us on it because we know it is over two years ago since Aisling Murphy's murder, we are not seeing an improvement in the refuge spaces, we are not seeing an improvement in court procedures, for example rape victims still have to hand over their therapy and counselling notes to the perpetrator, that has to end, that is the most cruel thing you could do to somebody who would be re-traumatised all over again in court and there is a problem with the judiciary, I am not going to say too much about it, it is staring everybody in the face, perhaps they need to be educated or reformed or something but there is definitely a problem just with the approach and the mentality with which they face these things. I also think as part of a discussion this morning on the radio that we are overlooking a big trick here and that is a reform of the sex education programmes in schools to include consent, to include more understanding of biology because there is a huge level of transgender-based violence on trans people in this country, something like four times more likely than you and me to experience transgender violence. One of the highest rates of hate motivated violence is against transgender people and about 13% of transgender people have reported being physically or sexually assaulted or threatened with violence because of transphobia and that compares to an average of 8% across the European Union. So we are missing a trick on reforming the education system and doing it quickly. My concern in speaking with you here today, Minister, is the question of timing, is when we get these things done, because we cannot just keep facing more never agains every other day of the week, and we do hear of them every other day of the week, even if they do not all come into this house. Natasha O'Brien and Blond at Radley certainly jumped out, but there are other cases that the names are not given, and we see the cases in court every day. And I want to say here publicly, shame on those who try to point the finger at immigrants, men of colour, for being the most dangerous to women. That is not the case whatsoever. Those who are most dangerous to women are those who are known to them. Over 80% of transgender violence and sexual violence takes place by partners or ex-partners. I just want to refer to this report, and I know you know about it. It was commissioned in Cherry Orchard, Dublin 10 area, as a consequence of a lot of campaigning work done by my colleague Councillor Hazel de Nortoone. I have seen you at the meetings out in Cherry Orchard, and I know you put a lot of effort into making sure this happened. But this report, called Unveiling the Shadows, really does shine a light deep into an impoverished and excluded community, where the cuts in austerity hit harder than anything else. Back in, what, 10 years ago now, 12 years ago, when the Minister at the time said, we are picking the low-hanging fruit first. And deliberately it targeted family support services, addiction support services, youth services, who had cuts of 50%, 60%, 80%, and those cuts have never been fully restored. And they are exactly what is needed in an area like Cherry Orchard is the supports, the wraparound supports, where intervention can be made with children with children who have suffered the trauma of domestic and gender-based violence, with the women, mostly women themselves, sometimes men, but then with a housing system that is really broken, really, really broken when it comes to the poorest and the most marginalised. I think we should now start advocating for the family home to be the refuge for those who suffer, where the perpetrator is forced to exit the home and leave those who have suffered the violence in the family home. Otherwise, we are going to be chasing our tails, particularly when the State has failed, to provide more or less than half of what the Istanbul Convention outlines. I want to pay tribute to Councillor de Nortooun and to all the brave women who are really fighting hard to end the culture in this country. Thank you.
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