Laws tackling domestic violence and gender-based abuse to be enacted before summer
A Garda repositions flowers among candles left outside Dáil Éireann as the National Women's Council held a vigil for Ashling Murphy following her killing on January 12, 2022. Picture: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie
The justice minister has promised to enact a raft of new laws before the summer to crack down on domestic violence and gender-based abuse.
Ahead of the first anniversary of the killing of Ashling Murphy this week, Simon Harris said legislation to increase maximum sentences, strengthen victims' rights, and increase monitoring of sex offenders will be introduced in the first half of 2023.
An anniversary Mass marking one year since the death of Ms Murphy will take place in Mountbolus church, Co Offaly, this Thursday.
The 23-year-old's family and friends have also established a memorial fund in her honour, which will create education, sport, and musical scholarships; support arts and cultural activities; provide musical instrument banks for organisations, and promote the Irish language.
"Ashling was fully committed to everything she put her hand to; she was highly motivated and always believed in following her dreams," read a statement posted on social media by the Murphy family.
Meanwhile, Mr Harris is to publish a major new sexual offences bill in the coming weeks that will strengthen the rights of victims, ensure anonymity for victims in all trials for sexual offences, and extend the victim’s right to separate legal representation.
The Government is to enact laws before the summer, making stalking and strangulation a standalone criminal offence, and will also change the law to double the maximum sentence for assault causing harm from five years to 10 years.
"This involves all parts of society and Government playing its parts and that’s what the Zero Tolerance plan published by my colleague, Minister McEntee, is about," Mr Harris said.
The minister has also said a new law to increase the monitoring of sex offenders, including through the use of electronic tagging, will pass all stages before the summer.
Separately, the National Women’s Council (NWC) has called for an up-to-date sex education curriculum, free from religious influence, which the group says is a key part of preventing gender-based violence.
The NWC has said SPHE (social, personal and health education) and RSE (relationships and sexuality education) should be made mandatory for all senior-cycle students.
The group's submission on Senior Cycle SPHE Curriculum Redevelopment stresses that teachers must receive ongoing training to ensure they feel confident and competent in delivering this new, evidence-based curriculum.
“The new government strategy on gender-based violence strongly recommended a reformed school curriculum which can focus on issues like gender stereotypes, intimate partner abuse, and the harms of pornography," said NWC director Orla O’Connor.
"The curriculum should address the very real impact of gender-based violence on girls, and support students to develop healthy behaviours based on consent and mutual respect.
Currently, schools are only required to provide a minimum of six RSE lessons in senior cycle per year and timetabling of SPHE in senior cycle is not mandatory, which results in a lot of variation between schools. The NWC has said six lessons of RSE is not enough and this needs to be extended in the redevelopment process.
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