Thousands of people have taken part in protests around the country today to show their support for Natasha O'Brien who was beaten unconscious in a random street attack in 2022, for which the attacker received a fully suspended sentence.
Cathal Crotty, 22, of Parkroe Heights, Ardnacrusha, Co Clare, was given a three-year fully suspended sentence at Limerick Circuit Court after he pleaded guilty to the attack on Ms O'Brien.
Ms O'Brien joined around 1,000 people who gathered in her home city of Limerick to show solidarity with her this afternoon. Organisers said they wanted to send a message that society must reject all forms of gender-based violence.
Joining protesters on Limerick's Bedford Row, Ms O'Brien called for an end to gender-based violence.
"I chose to speak up because I couldn't imagine the impact on other victims. This is enough. This is the time for it to end," she said, adding, "they (the Department of Justice) are not listening to us."
Referring to the court case and the sentence her attacker received - Ms O'Brien said: "What about me? What about my life? What about so many victims like me?"
She was joined by her friend Shauna Daly who was with her that night, saying without her intervention she could have died.
"We all deserve change, we all deserve better, the victims should not be forced to suffer again and again," Ms O'Brien said.
The Defence Forces said in a statement yesterday that they have begun internal proceedings following the soldier's conviction.
Protests were also held earlier in Cork, Dublin and Galway.
Over 400 people gathered in Cork city centre in the first of the organised protests from midday.
Those gathered heard speakers - including Edith Busteed of the socialist feminist movement ROSA, and Mary Crilly of the Sexual Violence Centre - call for legal reforms and an end to gender-based violence.
Retired Irish Army Corporal Roslyn O'Callaghan, a member of the Women of Honour campaign group, also addressed the protest.
Ms Busteed said Ms O'Brien and other victims of violence "deserve better".
The gathering also heard calls for the prohibition of character references in domestic and gender-based violence cases, and proper funding for groups that support the victims of gender-based violence.
Yesterday, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said that new laws coming will mean that a person giving a character reference must be willing to be cross-examined in cases of domestic or sexual violence and violence against women.
In a statement ahead of the protests, ROSA spokesperson Ruth Coppinger said the justice system gives more weight to the lives and feelings of violent men than to their victims.
Around 150 people also gathered in Galway's Eyre Square to express support for Ms O'Brien.
Organisers expressed criticism of the judicial system over the absence of a custodial sentence for Cathal Crotty, saying a stronger signal is needed in light of the seriousness of the assault he subjected his victim to.
They called on those present to contact senior Government figures, to register their concerns and call for enhanced sentencing guidelines for such crimes.
Women need to feel safe to come forward with a complaint, says Noonan
Minister of State Malcolm Noonan condemned the attack on Ms O'Brien and described it as a "watershed moment".
Speaking on RTÉ's Saturday with Colm Ó Mongáin, Mr Noonan said: "This is a watershed moment where a woman has been brutally attacked and which we all condemn.
"But she's had the courage to speak out for other women."
Mr Noonan said there was a need to "create a culture where gender-based violence is completely not tolerated in this country".
"In general, and I make this general point, that women have to feel safe that they can come forward with a complaint," he said.
"There has to be a culture in this country for women to feel safe that they can make a complaint about gender-based violence and sexual assault and they're going to be listened to and they're going to be treated fairly in the system, because currently there are far too many anomalies that are happening across the country in relation to this," he added.
Speaking on the same programme, Independent TD Marian Harkin said she had a "visceral" reaction to the attack.
"The message should be clear that violence against women, that beating up women in public or in private is not just unacceptable, it's just something that won’t be tolerated in our society," she said.
"And that message was not made clear this week," she added.
Labour TD Duncan Smith said he was "utterly repulsed" by the sentence given to Cathal Crotty.
"I think Natasha O'Brien herself has spoken with great bravery but has said she does not feel she's gotten justice, and she hasn’t," he said.
Mr Smith said: "Justice has not been served here, I think that’s the feeling throughout the State."
Minister Noonan said he welcomed Minister for Justice Helen McEntee's announcement that new laws coming will mean that a person giving a character reference must be willing to be cross-examined in cases of domestic or sexual violence and violence against women.
"Hopefully [it] will be passed reasonably soon," he said.
Ms Harkin said: "We need to look at that because we have this whole broader issue of character references and what weight they carry and whether people should be questioned."
Mr Smith said: "We need a culture whereby the victim feels safe and supported and fairly treated in the courtroom and these character references don't add to that."
Reporting: Jennie O'Sullivan and Pat McGrath
