Sinn Féin MEP and member of the FEMM committee, Kathleen Funchion has said that Ireland is currently facing an alarming crisis regarding femicide and gender-based violence.

Speaking following today’s FEMM committee, MEP Funchion said:

“Many women across Ireland no longer feel safe, even within their own homes. It seems almost every day we are confronted with another tragedy – a woman killed, another life stolen by domestic and gender-based violence.

“Today I raised with an expert forum from the European Institute of Gender Equality (EIGE) that Ireland’s current ‘Zero Tolerance’ third national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV) is falling far short of the 675 spaces needed to meet the number of spaces required under the Istanbul Convention, which Ireland ratified in 2019.

“Whilst only one county in Ireland South (Carlow) remains without a women’s refuge, for many victims/ survivors, escaping abusive situations is not simply a matter of leaving. The barriers they face when attempting to access support services, particularly in rural areas, are significant.

“Safe refuge centres often represent the only place where these women can find safety. It is vital that these centres are not only accessible but properly resourced and that the organisations providing such services are adequately funded to carry out their life-saving work. The clear lack of availability of social housing, affordable private rental accommodation is one of the greatest barriers and challenges for women and children who are victims/survivors of domestic violence and abuse.

“Women in rural communities are disproportionately affected, with fewer support networks available and often no access to public transport, leaving them isolated and with fewer options to escape abusive environments.

“I questioned the panel on their organisation’s data collection and how they process Information on both coercive control and what standards or methodologies they use for measuring coercive control across Europe.

“In a recent report GREVIO encouraged Ireland to introduce a system, such as a review mechanism, to analyse all cases of gender-based killings of women.

“The lack of comprehensive data on DSGBV in Ireland has created a vacuum of information and this needs to change, I think it’s vitally important we use the resources of organisations like EIGE to support our response to this crisis.”