Paul Murphy condemns Garda for ignoring 3,000 abuse calls
Paul Murphy criticised the Gardaí for failing to respond to thousands of emergency domestic abuse calls and called the situation a major scandal. He said 3,000 emergency domestic abuse calls were completely ignored and that an apology from the Gardaí commissioner was insufficient.
Scandal over ignored emergency calls
Paul Murphy recounted a case in which a woman phoned 999 three times in one hour - reporting assault, then threats to her children, then pleading for help - and received no response. He said that woman was one of 3,000 emergency domestic abuse calls that were completely ignored by the Gardaí, leaving victims abandoned.
Apology rejected
He rejected the apology from the head of the Gardaí, Gardaí Commissioner Drew Harris, as inadequate. Murphy contrasted the failure to protect women with the Gardaí finding resources to break up a Debenhams workers' picket line and to pursue and prosecute an activist, Rosa Aisling O'Keefe, for organising a protest against gender-based violence during the pandemic.
Scale of gender-based violence
Murphy cited Women's Aid figures to highlight the broader problem - more than 30,000 disclosures of abuse in 2020, a 43% increase from 2019, with almost 6,000 involving a child. He said those contacts are described as the tip of the iceberg and illustrate the horrific prevalence of gender-based violence.
Family law and refuge gaps
He quoted Women's Aid CEO Sarah Benson's warning that the current family law system repeatedly fails those who need help and can be used by abusers to continue tormenting partners after separation. Murphy also highlighted the completely inadequate number of women's refuges available to survivors.
Concerns in the arts sector and calls for action
Referencing the group Fair Play, Murphy noted reports of harassment and abuse within the arts, where precarious employment and concentrated power leave women vulnerable. He said campaigners demand that public funding be tied to appropriate representation and the creation of an independent complaints body, and emphasised that words are not enough - the government needs to provide funding and action.
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The situation of domestic abuse calls to the Gardaí being ignored is a very major scandal. It's not a scandal that should be ended with an apology and a promise to do better. In just one shocking case, a woman phoned 999 three times in one hour, begging for help for her and her children. In her first call, she reported that she was being assaulted. In her second call, she explained that her partner was now threatening her children. And when she didn't hear back, she phoned a third time to plead for help. All three calls were ignored. She and her kids were abandoned. We know now that she was one of 3,000 emergency domestic abuse calls that were completely ignored by the Gardaí. The apology from the head of the Gardaí, Gardaí Commissioner Drew Harris, is simply not good enough. Especially when you look at the fact that the Gardaí can find the time and the resources, for example, to break up the picket line of the Debenhams workers, or incredibly to pursue and prosecute an activist for Rosa Aisling O'Keefe, precisely for the crime of organising a protest against gender-based violence during the pandemic. But when it comes to women looking for protection from abuse, they are ignored. And it means that we're not dealing with just a few bad apples here. It's systematic and it's despicable. And what is exposed by this situation, on the one hand, is the unfortunate and horrific prevalence of gender-based violence within our society. But also the other side of it is it being not taken seriously in a very systematic way by a patriarchal and sexist capitalist state and its various actors. Some figures to indicate both sides of this. People have probably seen the figures, but they're worth noting. I mean, the scale of the so-called pandemic within a pandemic of gender-based violence. Women's Aid received more than 30,000 disclosures of abuse in 2020, a 43% increase from 2019. Of those, almost 6,000 involved a child victim. And they describe this, this huge volume of contacts, as the tip of the iceberg. The other side of that is what Women's Aid CEO Sarah Benson claimed that the current family law system is repeatedly failing those who need help. And in some cases is a tool for the abuser to continue to torment their partners even after they leave them. You also have the completely inadequate number of women's refuges. That's the situation that's facing people. I want to make particular reference to one area. I know my colleague, Deputy Boyd Barrett, met with the group Fair Play, which campaigns for gender equality within the arts. And they have, you know, raised the situation where there is, you know, a whole number of cases of harassment and abuse within the industry. Obviously, we've seen that worldwide being exposed. We know that artists, women in particular, can be particularly vulnerable in the sector because of the precarious nature of employment in the sector, because of the power and authority and control that can be held by those at the top. And they are demanding that all public funding should be linked to appropriate representation and also the establishment of an independent body that people could go to to complain. And there's many issues I could raise in terms of, I think, it's not just words that we need from the government. We need funding, we need action, but my time is up.
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