Irish Examiner view: Ireland may be waking up to the incalculable harm of gender-based violence
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Marital rape has been a crime in Ireland for little more than three decades, so this week’s life sentence imposed on a man who inflicted “25 years of hell” on his wife marks a very significant moment.
More significant still was the fact that Ms Justice Melanie Greally said the court recognised the immensity of the woman’s suffering and the vast damage that her husband “wilfully and sadistically” caused to her.
The Rape Crisis Centre echoed the sentiment of many when it said the judge’s comments and sentencing sent “a profoundly important message” to victims.
Too often, those seeking justice have found that the system neither understood nor recognised the incalculable harm caused by sexual abuse.
It is little wonder that just 2% of women and 1% of men who have experienced sexual violence as adults go to gardaí.
The fact that a rape survivor’s counselling notes were, until very recently, admissible as evidence was a further disincentive — not to mention a further traumatisation.
Earlier this month, Taoiseach Simon Harris told the Dáil that the invasive practice would be outlawed. There is still a long way to go to tackle what has been described as an epidemic of gender-based violence in Ireland.
Many of the steps forward have been due to the bravery of survivors. People such as Bláthnaid Raleigh, who waived her right to anonymity when her rapist Jonathan Moran was sentenced to nine years, with the final year suspended, on July 1.
She said she wanted to put the shame right back where it belonged — on him. She also wanted to highlight the fact that younger people don’t acknowledge what is happening within their own circles.
Speaking out will help to chip away at the deeply ingrained attitudes that allow a rape culture to thrive.
The actions taken by another woman, Natasha O’Brien, have also done immeasurable good. She spoke publicly after Judge Tom O’Donnell gave a suspended sentence to Cathal Crotty. He beat Ms O’Brien unconscious on the street and boasted about it afterwards on social media. He has since been discharged from the Defence Forces.
The case, and the judge’s comments that a custodial sentence would damage his job prospects, unleashed a national wave of anger that will hopefully bring much-needed change. That change cannot come too soon.
Ms O’Brien hit the nail on the head when she said the justice system was not broken. “It is working the way it was designed — by men for men,” she said.
It is not the only system that needs a complete overhaul. Misogyny is baked into many of our societal structures — workplaces, schools, institutions — but it is heartening to see such vigour among those highlighting this issue anew.
At a meeting in Dublin on Tuesday, one attendee said gender-based violence should be an election issue.
The urgent need to just do that was underlined on Wednesday when Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said she received a death threat online after calling for zero tolerance when it comes to violence against women and girls.
There’s nothing like a sporting victory to buoy up a nation, but watching the Girls in Green power past titans France in Cork on Tuesday evening will leave a lasting high for many reasons.
It was noteworthy enough to hear the roar of some 18,000 soccer fans at a GAA ground, but it was nothing short of extraordinary when Denise O’Sullivan, from Knocknaheeny, scored the first of Ireland’s three goals at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
Manager Eileen Gleeson has every reason to be “so proud of the girls” after their stunning 3-1 win secured them the last seeded spot for the Euro 2025 play-offs in October.
(Spare a thought for England manager Gareth Southgate, who resigned after his team’s second successive defeat in a Euros final. Such are the vagaries of sport).
Back in Cork, the high continues as goalscorer Denise O’Sullivan said she would love to see the women’s national team return to her native city for one of the play-off matches.
The stadium will make history of a different sort on Sunday when it hosts its first Rebel Fanzone event with a live screening of the Cork v Clare All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship final. Tickets for the screening were just as coveted as those for the real-life event at Croke Park.
All 15,000 tickets were snapped up in 45 minutes after they went online.
It’s game on.
Just as Taoiseach Simon Harris marked 100 days in office, his predecessor, Leo Varadkar, announced that he won’t be seeking re-election. He is the 14th TD of Fine Gael who will stand down at the next election which, by any standards, looks like a mass exodus.
What that means for politics will be thrashed out in the coming months, in the same way that the performance of both men will generate much discussion.
It is too early to make any meaningful assessment of Simon Harris, but there is much to be said of Mr Varadkar’s two terms in office. He saw the country through many difficult moments — the covid pandemic and Brexit among them — but perhaps the most significant milestone came in 2015 when he came out as gay ahead of the marriage equality referendum.
It was a defining moment, a symbol of a new Ireland where the openly gay son of a migrant could be elected.
Sadly, there have been many new lows since then — with protests and shameful attacks on politicians’ homes.
Mr Varadkar even admitted on Wednesday that there were times when he didn’t feel safe. Let’s use his departure as a reminder to return to the kind of Ireland that allows politicians to live their lives in private — and in peace.