Taoiseach urges men to play part in changing attitudes towards women in Ireland

By Gráinne Ní Aodha, PA

Taoiseach Simon Harris has urged men to call out the questioning of victims of violence and to change attitudes towards women in Ireland.

He said the national approach to domestic violence in Ireland had been to “bury our heads in the sand” and said he would lead the change on this.

Mr Harris made the comments after several protests were held in Ireland after an Irish soldier was given a suspended sentence for the assault of a woman in a random attack.

The victim, 24-year-old Natasha O’Brien, has pledged to keep the pressure on the Government and politicians to tackle violence against women.

Speaking in the Dáil on Wednesday, Mr Harris said that the leadership of Minister for Justice Helen McEntee and the Dáil had led to “real meaningful changes” to address “the epidemic” of gender-based violence.

He referenced making stalking and strangulation standalone criminal offences, doubling the sentence for assault causing harm and criminalising the sharing of intimate images without consent.

A new agency called Cuan was established by Ms McEntee to implement a zero-tolerance approach to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

“These have been important steps, but indeed, the events of the last two weeks have reminded us how far we have to travel,” the Taoiseach said.

He said recent events had provided an opportunity to have “important conversations”.

Ms McEntee said the epidemic of violence against women “hasn’t just appeared, it has always been”, but said there had been improvements during her tenure as minister.

She said primary school children need to be educated on consent and respect in an age-appropriate way due to easier access to pornography and other online influences.

In the two years since primary school teacher Ashling Murphy was murdered while exercising along a canal in Co Offaly, 20 more women have been killed, the Dáil was told.

Mr Harris said he will chair a Cabinet committee meeting next week with all the relevant ministers and senior officials on the implementation of a zero-tolerance strategy.

He said the approach to tackle violence against women was not just about laws and courts, but about society as a whole.

“I am always particularly conscious when I discuss this issue that I am a man, and it is often men who perpetrate these violent assaults on women,” Mr Harris told the Dáil.

“That is why it is incumbent on men to take leadership positions and not allow the worst of us to speak for the rest of us.

“Zero tolerance should mean zero tolerance. That stretches to the barstools, the WhatsApp groups, the workplace, the football clubs and the newspaper columns.

“Because it seems there is always someone willing to defend the character of a rapist or a sexual predator.

“But there are far too few people and far too few men who will stand up for the rights of a victim or speak to their good name.”

He said that often the character or actions of a victim are “placed under scrutiny”, which can cause “long-lasting damage and trauma to the people they are posed against”.

“These are the behaviours we all need to challenge,” Mr Harris said.

He also called out anonymous criticism that branded Ms McEntee’s focus on domestic violence and hate crime legislation as “woke”.

“Those anonymous briefings to media confirm members of this House need to change their attitudes too,” the Taoiseach said.

He continued: “For years in this country, burying our heads in the sand was the national approach. We ignored some realities.

“Domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is an epidemic in Ireland. It is unacceptable, and it must change. It is not a problem created by women, and it should not be left to women to speak out against it.”

It will mean “calling out and condemn the toxic behaviours that have for too long permitted women in Ireland and around the world to suffer at the hands of men”.

Mr Harris added: “I will do everything I can, now and into the future, to play an active part in changing attitudes and behaviours and creating a safe, respectful and equal society.

“Every man in this country must pledge to do likewise.”