Violence against women: Senior garda warns of 'manosphere' 

Angela Willis says gardaí are increasingly seeing the influence of social media feeding boys and men with violent, misogynistic content

Assistant Commissioner, Organised & Serious Crime, Angela Willis speaking at An Garda Síochána's recent Go Purple Day raising awareness of domestic abuse. Picture: Sam Boal/Collins

The 'manosphere' may erode progress made in tackling violence against women, and more work needs to be done to combat it, an assistant garda commissioner has warned.

Gardaí are already seeing anecdotal evidence of the influence of the manosphere when investigating crime, Angela Willis said.

Social media feeding children and young men misogynistic and violent content is “hugely concerning”, and may impact crime and the safety of women, she said.

'Traditional views'?

Two coercive control cases this week mentioned how the perpetrators had “traditional” views of women and their rights, with one case referring to the woman being viewed as the man’s “chattel”.

These men were aged in their 40s and 50s.

However, with the rise of the manosphere and the toxic masculinity spouted by influencers such as Andrew Tate, which often targets young teenage boys, these regressive and dangerous ideas now threaten to hurtle Ireland back into dark and misogynistic mindsets, which many hoped had been confined to history, campaigners have said.

Irish society and  An Garda Síochána have “come a long way” in dealing with perpetrators of domestic and sexual violence and looking after victims, Ms Willis said.

“The progress we’ve made in society [...] could be eroded by what’s happening in the online space,” she said.

Gardaí are now receiving more than 1,000 reports of domestic abuse every week.

“It takes courage to report,” Ms Willis said.

We want victims to know that they will be listened to, that they will be treated with respect, and that they will be supported.

“If people are in that crisis situation, they really need to come forward to us, and we can certainly put measures in place to safeguard them.”

There were no gangland murders in Ireland last year, but seven women were killed.

The violence perpetrated in domestic settings against women would rival the violence of some of the most brutal gangland killings.

Remember Daena Walsh

Daena Walsh, a 27-year-old mother of two, was stabbed 25 times by Adam Corcoran, her long-term partner and the father of her children, in their home in Midleton, Co Cork, in 2024.

Daena Walsh was stabbed 25 times by Adam Corcoran, her long-term partner and the father of her children. File picture

A cluster of stab wounds around her heart were fatal. Her brother, Callum Walsh, said that the family was forced to watch Daena slip further and further from her family as the man who proclaimed to love her tightened his control over the young woman.

The family began to notice that Daena’s demeanour would change whenever Corcoran entered the room.“She’d suddenly get very quiet. Her eyes would drop to the ground,” Callum said.“Then they’d make up excuses not to visit at all anymore. He took control of her phone.”

Any complaint about domestic abuse should be taken extremely seriously, with immediate protections provided to the victim, he said.

Had Daena felt safe to escape from Corcoran, she would have fled, Mr Walsh believes.

Corcoran, who had 42 previous convictions, was on bail for attacking someone with a screwdriver just days before he killed Daena, Mr Walsh said.

Had he been remanded in custody for that violent offence, Daena would be alive today, he believes.