In Spring 2023, a delegation will touch down in Dublin to assess how Ireland is preventing and combating domestic violence under the Istanbul Convention.
The convention requires states to fully address gender-based violence and take measures to prevent it.
The Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) will visit Ireland in March by which time, it will almost be a year since the announcement by Government of a Zero Tolerance strategy towards domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.
It's the third strategy launched by an Irish government and it is the most ambitious to date - emerging from a pandemic that highlighted the level of domestic abuse happening behind closed doors.
In 2020, the national frontline support service for women affected by domestic abuse, Women's Aid found its 24-hour Freephone Helpline had responded to 41% more calls since the start of the pandemic compared to the previous year. The rise in contacts by victims was echoed across all domestic violence services nationwide.
It was clear there was a major problem that needed to be addressed - one that would require a cultural shift. Combatting Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence became a priority for the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee who secured support from the government as well as opposition party Oireachtas members.
Zero Tolerance Strategy announced
In June, the aspirational five-year Zero Tolerance strategy was announced. Its aim is to "achieve a society" which does not accept DSGBV or attitudes surrounding it.
To do that, curricula at junior and senior cycle will be changed to include consent, domestic violence, coercive control and safe use of the internet by 2024.
In the immediate term, those working with victims say there is a real for refuge spaces to enable those in danger move to safety. The Zero Tolerance strategy will see the fastest expansion of refuge places according to the Department of Justice, but that is from an extremely low base.
By the end of the strategy, it says there will be over 280 refuge spaces, with additional safe houses and step-down accommodation. However, over 470 are required under the Istanbul Convention.
Action was taken in Budget 2023 when the Department of Justice dedicated specific expenditure lines for DSGBV, but despite the additional investment the National Women's Council reiterated that Ireland would still not meet the number of domestic violence refuge accommodation units required under the Istanbul Convention.
One thing the Government has done in relation to accommodation is undertaken mainstream funding of the Safe Ireland/AirBnB emergency hotel accommodation scheme through Tusla, until a new statutory agency is established in January 2024.
The agency is viewed as the most significant aspect of the strategy. It will be expected to deliver services to victims including safe and accessible accommodation, national service standards, awareness campaigns and research to inform DSGBV policy.
Reporting to the Minister for Justice, political oversight will be provided by the Cabinet Committee on Social Affairs and Equality.
'We don't have a rapporteur for sexual and domestic violence'
However, Cliona Sadlier of the Rape Crisis Network believes there is a conflict of interest because the agency "can't do the delivery and monitoring".
She points out there will be no independent monitoring to hold Government to account and to bring Ireland into compliance with the Istanbul Convention.
"It is a gap for us - we don’t have a rapporteur for sexual and domestic violence, like you would for children for example, or an ombudsman or an independent champion that you would have in other areas," she says.
Ms Saidléar praised the inclusion of children in the strategy for the first time but said there remain important omissions, child contact centres in particular. These centres enable supervised meetings or handovers between parents who are no longer together but where, for example, verbal abuse occurs when a child is being handed over from one parent to visit the other.
'I tried so hard though to get SOMETHING CHANGED in the law'
This year, the difficulties faced by a mother was highlighted on social media through the Instagram profile @ADUBLINMOTHER.
The anonymous account gained followers by highlighting the anxiety she felt when visitation rights were given to the father of her child by the courts, even though he was absent for the first years of her life.
It is an example of a situation where a child contact centre would have helped everyone involved, especially the child who developed constipation following visits.
Through the help of Stop Domestic Violence in Ireland, her situation changed after what she described as "the hardest battle" of her life.
In a recent post she said: "I tried so hard though to get SOMETHING CHANGED in the law. I rang TD's, journalists, tagged every radio and TV station, wrote and posted on this page to get something changed but I will still try for the future."
The anxiety experienced by @ADUBLINMOTHER over visitation rights was underpinned by loneliness, isolation and helplessness. Those feelings are what victims of Domestic, Sexual and Gender based violence are currently experiencing this Christmas.
Public awareness campaigns are under way across all media platforms to enable victims to find help. However, Safe Ireland says that while such campaigns are welcome, they have a "limited effect" on social change.
"We would advocate that the function of 'public awareness' be changed to 'cultural transformation' which opens a pathway to much more meaningful strategic work towards creating a Zero Tolerance approach," according to a spokesperson.
Indeed, there was a notable increase in stories in the mainstream media over the last 12 months highlighting domestic violence. On this, Safe Ireland has stressed the need for a progression from "reactive reporting" and "sensational storytelling" to in-depth analysis and documentary making.
Cases that emerged from the courts last year and that were reported on, also led to comments from the Minister for Justice.
Following the sentencing in July of former garda Paul Moody to three-and-a-quarter-years in prison for torturing and terrorising a woman ill with cancer, Minister McEntee said that issues of gender-based control "absolutely exist within the [garda] organisation".
She told RTÉ News that: "The Garda Commissioner in particular has made this a priority, not just the gardaí supporting victims but rooting this out from within his own organisation."
At the time, the Chief Executive of Women's Aid Sarah Benson pointed out the "chilling effect" on victims if a person in a "position of standing" engages in coercive control.
This story was in the headlines just a month after the Zero Tolerance strategy was launched. While the Strategy itself was a significant moment for services working with victims of domestic violence last year, it will be judged on its implementation.
As Minister Simon Harris takes up the mantle from Minister Helen McEntee while she is on maternity leave, there is a view that he will remain committed to driving the policy forward in her absence.
The first step in that process will be the GREVIO examination in three months' time.
