The global campaign to end gender-based violence One Billion Rising has called on communities around the world to organize events on 14 February to raise awareness for gender-based violence. There are events taking place globally, but not in Ireland.

Ireland is ‘behind’

Every year, One Billion Rising chooses one day for their global movement. The campaign was launched as part of the global V-Day movement, an activist movement to end violence against all women, including “cisgender, transgender and those who hold fluid identities that are subject to gender-based violence,” according to V-Day.

“Ireland is behind in much of the conversation around ending gender-based violence, and an international campaign such as this highlights where Ireland is lacking in action,” said Izzy Tiernan, the Students’ Union Vice President for Welfare and Equality and the University of Galway.

Mx Tiernan said one indication of this was the legal definition of rape under Irish law (from 1981): “Sexual intercourse by a man with a woman who is not consenting to the intercourse, and where the man either knows that she is not consenting or is reckless as to whether she is or not”.

Figures speaking volumes

One Billion Rising was initiated in September 2012 by New York artist Eve Ensler, the ‘one billion’ refers to a UN statistic that one in three women will “either be raped or seriously assaulted in their lifetime.”

Almost one decade later, the World Health Organisation found that one in three women still experienced violence in 2021.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) published data on sexual harassment and violence in September last year finding that women in Ireland are almost four times more likely to experience inappropriate physical contact than men. Women are also twice as likely to experience sexual harassment than men.

Legislative change

Two months after the CSO report, the Council of Europe found that urgent improvement was needed in Irish legislation to ensure protection against gender-based violence for women and children.

“There can be no large change until the government takes action to creating a fairer justice system,” said Mx Tiernan.

Meanwhile, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee withdrew proposals around consent in the Government’s major reform of existing rape laws in November last year. The bill proposed people accused of rape would have to convince a jury they took steps to get consent from their accuser. McEntee was urged to reconsider her decision by groups such as the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre.

Research shortcomings

In many cases, research on gender-based violence is carried out with a gendered approach.

“This gendered approach excludes so much of our population, not just men, but transgender and non-binary people,”said Mx Tiernan. Signs for this gendered approach are using terms such as “violence against women” instead of “gender-based violence,” they said.

Even the National Women’s Council Ireland (NWC), whom “one would image taking the lead on tackling gender-based violence,” continues to use “gendered and exclusionary language in their media and press releases,” Mx Tiernan said.

Leaving ‘behind’ behind