At Community Foundation Ireland we are proud long-standing partners not just of Ruhama but of many of you here today.
At the Foundation we know that our mission of Equality For All in Thriving Communities cannot be achieved without ending domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.
By working together we have ensured that helplines are answered, safe places provided and put in place therapy and other vital supports.
We also come together to deliver best in class research which informs both public debate and informs policy.
Our efforts together can be seen right across Zero Tolerance, the national strategy launched in 2022 to eliminate domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence through prevention, protection, prosecution, and policy coordination.
The strategy was launched with the aim of shifting attitudes, supporting survivors, holding perpetrators to account, supporting awareness raising as well as training professionals.
I say today’s gathering is timely because the timeline on Zero Tolerance ends in 2026 – giving us 12-months to decide the next steps. That is a process which needs pace and urgency.
By bringing us here Ruhama recognises that need – as indeed do other partners who have also been holding convenings and discussions on their respective areas.
As we look to those next steps and the future we must do so conscious of the current situation.
The fact that one-in-three women experience psychological, physical or sexual abuse at the hands of an intimate partner is alarming.
So too should the reality that today Gardaí will respond to an average of 180 calls for help as a result of domestic violence.
Children are in the frontline of this crisis – often the only eyewitnesses when daddy threatens, abuses or even assaults their mammy.
They are also victims – with almost 15% of girls in Europe self-reporting experiences of abuse.
We know too thanks to the work of both Ruhama and the Sexual Exploitation Research and Policy (SERP) Institute that there are 1,000 women and girls for sale online in this country every day.
As shocking as the figures are, they are far from the full picture. Behind each one are the very human stories of lives spent living in the shadow of violence, of danger and in some cases a very real threat to life.
We must be conscious of this reality in assessing our next steps and how Ireland and our society responds to the challenges we face.
There have been successes of course, the roll out of consent classes across educational curricula, extra refuge spaces, recognition of prostitution as gender based violence, the identification of exit routes out of prostitution, awareness raising and training.
Our new agency Cuan, the establishment of which has been itself an important development, is bedding down.
We see that with a new public awareness campaign ‘Always Here’ launched two weeks ago. As a member of the Board of the agency it is heartening to see its commitment to pace and impact.
These are all positive developments and must be acknowledged.
Equally though we must recognise that those determined to carry out sexual violence are often one step ahead of our efforts.
In both the physical and online world they adapt and seek new ways to carry out their crimes with immunity.
At the Community Foundation we recognise this – alerted by both our frontline and research partners.
There are many harsh realities. Predators who know where vulnerable children are being housed. An online commercial sex trade which evades laws by moving its servers from one jurisdiction to another. Violent porn which deliberately targets our children as well as social platforms apparently unable to keep pace with the levels of misogyny and violence.
All of your organisations have provided that evidence and many have given us actions which must be actively considered in deciding how we move beyond Zero Tolerance.
When we look at next steps there is always a tendency to look to the law, to seek new legislation and to channel all our resources there.
Policy and law absolutely have their place and we should seek to use them to support survivors and hold the guilty to account.
However, like many of you I am a long-standing campaigner and recognise that changing the law does not happen overnight – it is far more likely to take years of effort across several parliaments until the message lands and a Minister with foresight takes the initiative.
We have had such Ministers, Frances Fitzgerald has always known the need for reforms and delivered, we saw that too with the launch of Zero Tolerance by Helen McEntee and we are greatly encouraged by the strong interest of Minister Jim O’Callaghan.
But women and children are in danger today. There is no doubt that not far from where we are gathered now a child is online, unsupervised, without protections and vulnerable to those who wish them harm.
Equally there are children dreading going home from the classroom and the playground because violence can erupt at any moment in the place where they should have the greatest safety, comfort and support.
Right now women and girls are being sold online in this eir-code and every eir-code in the country.
That is what we know is happening today.
Is it enough to wait for legal change?
Many of our philanthropists like to think of pioneering moves, to think outside the box and to look at alternative approaches not to replace the need for new laws, but to deliver change with pace.
Through Community Foundation Ireland they are supporting important pieces of work which do encourage new approaches.
Barbara and Frances, your team at Ruhama has been supported to deliver trauma therapy and holistic health programmes enabling women to leave prostitution and trafficking situations.
These tailored supports ensure access to services, uphold women’s rights, challenge exploitation and create opportunities for recovery.
At the Foundation we are also working with partners on the delivery of survivor centred criminal and legal processes – these can range from court accompaniment, standing in solidarity with survivors as well as offering pathways to healing.
Many pieces of research have identified the need for positive mentors and role models for boys and young men.
We cannot let a generation believe that what they see in the darkest corners of the web is the norm – bearing in mind getting into those dark corners is increasingly easy.
Others highlight that as a society and a country we formally recognise the extent of sexual violence and have a genuine national conversation on sexual violence. A conversation which happens not just in the Dáil and in every council but in every sports club, youth group, community centre, in every school and every workplace – and also at every kitchen table.
Many of you have worked with An Garda Siochana, Tusla and the health services. We are seeing results and if anything we need more of this so that the message goes out that victims and survivors can come forward knowing they will be supported.
Not one of these initiatives require legal change – and there are many more.
In addition to the laws needed we must also think about questions like:
Where are the male voices encouraging positive attitudes among boys and young men?
How can we make the digital media platforms which call Ireland home step up to the mark and take serious effective action?
Where are the gaps in skills, knowledge and empathy that must be addressed and how do we bridge them through awareness raising and training?
The moment to think beyond Zero Tolerance is now. By being here today you recognise that.
At Community Foundation Ireland we remain your partners.
Our philanthropists share your mission and your goals.
We are always keen to hear your next priorities, we are equally keen to know how you would like to advance many of the recommendations which have already been published.
Can I again thank Ruhama for facilitating us here today.
I wish you well in your deliberations.
Community Foundation Ireland outlines its work with partners and the role of philanthropy in a special case study Towards A Society Free From Sexual Violence.
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