Ashling Murphy was not the first woman to die in a random violent attack as she went about her business in broad daylight on the banks of the Grand Canal. Others have met violent deaths going to work, coming home, in daylight and in dark. The outpouring of grief and anger across the land is a powerful expression of solidarity with the Murphy family who now face the unimaginable heartbreak of coming to terms with life without Ashling. The streams of stories, personal experiences and traumatic narratives that flood our airwaves are stark testimony that male violence against women, harassment of women and degradation of women are endemic, pervasive and ever-present in Irish life. We now stand at a crossroads and there is a choice to be made. We must choose action - united, persistent action, to end the violence, the threat of violence, the fear of violence that blights the lives of women and girls. We must make that choice and we must mean it.
The roots of sexism and misogyny run deep. The Ireland of religious dogma, that defined women as men's property, that excluded women from the world of work, that relegated us as objects and confined us to domestic chores, that confined and exploited the poor and vulnerable in laundries and mother and baby homes and that stole babies from the arms of their mothers, that Ireland defined and disfigured the lives of generations of women; our grandmothers, our mothers. Much has changed. The face of misogyny has changed but it has not gone away. Today's Ireland, our place, our daughters' Ireland, is ugly and dangerous still, whether it is the unsolicited sexual photos, the online stalking and abuse and harassment in shops, in nightclubs, on the bus, on bicycles, at work or at college. It is the intimidation of lewd commentary and catcalling. It is the never-ending mansplaining. It is the gaslighting and the coercive control. It is rape.
All of this and more is the circuitry of misogyny, a culture that enables violence against women and then looks the other way. Hundreds of women have met the ultimate brutality of this toxic culture. The fear of random attack is terrifying but for many women, the terror is at home and the most dangerous person their intimate partner. Yet, every year, women and their children are turned away from refuges because there are no places for them. We have to be honest. While women suffer, the State penny-pinches and, as the words of lip service ring in their ears, vital services struggle to survive.
The murder of Ashling Murphy must mark a turning point. Leaders must lead. We need now to stand up and be counted. The public appetite for action now matches the scale of male violence that women face every day. This is our chance to turn the tide. This a rare moment for change. The safety, dignity and lives of women demand political action and unity. A meeting of political leaders must now be convened urgently. We need to unite in agreeing on and driving immediate and long-term action to eliminate violence against women. I ask the Taoiseach to convene this meeting as Head of Government.
This is a heartbreaking time, but hearts and lives have been repeatedly broken and each time, once the initial grief cools, the political system goes back to business as usual. This cannot happen again.
