Éirígí Gaillimh Call For Dublin Government To Tackle Violence Against Women
Saturday the 11th of February saw Éirígí activists take to the streets of Galway to highlight the inaction of the Dublin government in tackling the epidemic of violence against women, and called for the full implementation of the Istanbul Convention across Ireland. The call comes after an increase in the number of women killed in Ireland in 2022.
Speaking from Galway local Éirígí rep, Ian Ó Dálaigh, said, "Violence against women (VAGW) is a major societal issue in Ireland, one that must be tackled head-on by the powers that be. Just last month the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission said that VAGW has “reached crisis levels in Ireland”.
Éirígí Gaillimh’s Ian Ó Dálaigh highlighting the epidemic of male violence against women
The number of women across Ireland killed in violent circumstances in 2022 was the highest in 10 years. This is the backdrop against which Éirígí activists were highlighting government inaction on VAGW, and reiterating the party's call for the full implementation of the Istanbul Convention across Ireland.
The European Council brought the legislation into effect in 2014, but it wasn't ratified in the Twenty-Six Counties until 2019 - and it took until November 2022 for the same to happen in the Six Counties via the London government.
The Istanbul Convention aims to prevent violence against women, protect women from violence, and ensure that the perpetrators of such violence are prosecuted. A key aspect of the convention is the provision of support services for women - but there is a chronic lack of domestic violence refuge beds in this country.
This shortage of refuge beds has been an ongoing issue for several years, with several counties having no beds at all. And to add insult to injury, Helen McEntee, then Leinster House Minister for Justice, said in May 2022 that the State's target for refuge beds would not be met "until the end of the decade".
Éirígí activists on the streets of Galway City.
This is completely unacceptable. The provision of an adequate number of refuge beds should be a minimum expectation - one that's acted on with immediate effect.
Another key feature of the Istanbul Convention that is not currently being met is data collection on the number of femicides, and the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim. This data should be collated so that trends can be identified for awareness raising and for prevention purposes. The Dublin government has failed to do this, instead leaving it to a charity, Women’s Aid, to undertake this critical work.
Éirígí is calling for the full implementation of the Istanbul Convention across Ireland. This is essential if we are to address the pandemic of violence against women. Women deserve better. They deserve meaningful and lasting change. We cannot build a fair and equal society when one half of the population lives in fear!"
For further information on Éirígí’s view on the protection of women against male violence read -
Enough Of The Fake Outrage - Government Must Deliver For Women
Leeson Repeats Call For Women's Refuge In Dún Laoghaire Rathdown
Establishment Fails To Protect Women From New Forms Of Crime - Just As It Did From Old