What was she thinking?

What was she thinking, walking home alone? What was she thinking, wearing that? What was she thinking, getting that drunk? What was she thinking, getting a taxi by herself? Last month, a woman was brutally attacked while walking home from a house party in the early hours of the morning. The attack happened in the Togher [...]

2019-10-22T09:15:04+00:00 October 22nd, 2019|Categories: Opinion, Print|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Saying yes to consent classes

https://twitter.com/SVCCork/status/980159456045600768 When we glance back at years past there is always a moment that defines them in the public consciousness. A moment that ‘convulsed’ the country, and that was often a catalyst for an epic change of direction. In Ireland, over the past century, many of those moments have been focussed - almost to the [...]

Wearing a black dress is a symbol of intent. Let's get to work, ladies

We’re used to seeing a sea of black at professional events. Rows of penguins, black suits, white shirts, bowties. That’s what professional life looks like. The Dail looks like that. The House of Commons looks like that. Business conferences look like that. Only the entertainment industry, with its flocks of gorgeously adorned beautiful women tends to [...]

Rape figures are up – but could that be good news?

The latest crime figures from the CSO have shown a marked rise in recorded rapes and sexual assaults. In 2015, 536 rapes were reported throughout the State. That’s an increase of just over 12pc on 2014. The number of sexual assaults went up by 15pc in the same period, with a shocking 2,361 offences reported throughout [...]

Celebrating women #IWD2016

My enthusiasm for women and feminism is lifted every year by the sense of solidarity on two dates - Women's Christmas, and International Women's Day. This year I spent Women's Christmas speaking with Cork Simon's Colette O'Brien and Karen Songhurst at the Cork Simon Women's Christmas Lunch. And in time-honoured tradition my mother and sister-in-law [...]

Porn addiction… real or a media phenomenon?

I have always wondered whether 'porn addiction' was a real thing. Lots of people watch porn. Men, certainly, are quite open about watching it. Women not so much, often because it's not particularly catered to women, although that is changing. But, given the size of the industry, it's fair to say it's pretty standard behaviour. But [...]

2018-12-01T09:56:06+00:00 July 25th, 2015|Categories: Opinion|Tags: , , , , , |

Marital rape… once in 20 years? #listenback

https://soundcloud.com/opinionline96/i-woke-up-to-find-my-husband-raping-me Earlier this week a really brave lady came forward to tell her story of marital rape on the Opinion Line. Her description of what happened to her is absolutely chilling, but it's what failed to happen afterwards that really struck me. Despite her reporting what happened to the Gardaí, and despite her husband's abuse [...]

2018-12-01T09:56:06+00:00 July 23rd, 2015|Categories: Opinion|Tags: , , , , , , |

Enough is enough, we need mandatory rape sentences now

Imagine a life sentence of disturbed sleep. Imagine being sentenced to never trusting another person. A life of solitary confinement with your trauma. That's the sentence Magnus Meyer Hustveit condemned Niamh Nic Dhomhnaill to when he raped her repeatedly in the bed they shared, while she was asleep. Hustveit will not have to worry about being [...]

2018-12-01T09:56:06+00:00 July 22nd, 2015|Categories: Opinion|Tags: , , , , , , |

It glitzing it up the only way to highlight violence?

When I saw the first bit of coverage last week of the star-studded End Sexual Violence in Conflict conference last week in London, I groaned inwardly. Here we go. More UN ‘ambassadors’ who cost money and look pityingly at landmine victims while the organisation and its member countries avoid doing anything that might prevent them becoming [...]

2018-12-01T09:56:58+00:00 June 21st, 2014|Categories: Opinion|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Speak no evil; how victims of sexual abuse are treated once they report

Victims of sexual abuse are encouraged to report the crimes against them - but when they do, they can often find themselves isolated from family and friends, with little support from the authorities and the legal system that are supposed to help them. ..... In the past 20 years, Irish society has undergone a sea-change in [...]

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