All-Ireland Network on Sexual Violence Research (AINSVR) Conference
Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Across the Island of Ireland
On Monday, 2nd September 2024, Queen's University Belfast (QUB) School of Law hosted the All-Ireland Network on Sexual Violence Research (AINSVR) Conference on Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Across the Island of Ireland.
The Networks objectives are to:
• facilitate and support academics, students, policymakers and external agencies in researching and responding to sexual violence across the island of Ireland;
• provide a platform for collaboration and knowledge exchange in the following thematic areas: Prevalence of sexual violence; Education and awareness; Support services; Criminal justice responses; Alternative responses; Law reform; •provide opportunities for members to meet regularly in person and/or online and engage with external stakeholders from across the island of Ireland. While the network itself focuses on sexual violence, this is just one manifestation of the violence experienced by women and girls in our society.
Indeed, following figures released by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) in England and Wales, that revealed one in 12 women are affected by crimes of stalking, harassment, sexual assault and domestic violence, violence against women and girls was described as a ‘national emergency’ and a ‘threat to society on the same scale as terrorism’.
In Northern Ireland (NI), 98% of women and 73% of girls who took part in surveys to ascertain the prevalence of violence against women and girls in this jurisdiction reported that they had experienced at least one form of violence in their lifetime.
Further to this, 23 women have been killed in NI since 2020, with two of these murders occurring in just one week in August 2024, as well as the attempted murder of another woman, highlighting the urgency of this issue.
In Ireland, violence against women was reported to have reached ‘crisis levels’ following the violent death of 11 women in 2022.
The purpose of the AINSVR conference was to provide an opportunity for collaboration and knowledge exchange among Network members in relation to ongoing work to combat violence against women and girls across the island of Ireland. The event hugely benefited from input, both in terms of presentations and attendee contributions, from academics as well as voluntary and statutory sector organisations. We are immensely grateful to everyone who gave up their time to support the event and provide their expertise.
The first session of the day set out the policy landscape with talks from Ms Julie Wilson, Deputy Director of Victims Support Division, NI Department of Justice, on the Department’s draft strategy on Domestic and Sexual Abuse; Professor Claire Archbold, Director, Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Directorate, the Executive Office NI on NI’s first strategy on Ending Violence against Women and Girls; and Dr Stephanie O’Keeffe, Cuan, The Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Agency, on their zero-tolerance approach to domestic, sexual and gendered violence in Irish society.
The second session was framed around prevention and education with presentations from Dr Elaine Byrnes, School of Psychology, Dublin City University; Dr Susan Lagdon, School of Psychology, Ulster University; Professor Dirk Shubotz, School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, QUB; and, Ms Sarah Monaghan, Consent Project Manager, Dublin Rape Crisis Centre.
The third session focused on justice responses, and the panel included Dr Susan Leahy, School of Law, University of Limerick; Dr Eithne Dowds, School of Law, QUB; and Ms Elaine Crory, Women's Resource and Development Agency.
The final session focused on ‘next steps’ and took the form of a panel discussion with representatives from key organisations working directly with victims across the island of Ireland: Ms Joanne Barnes, CEO, Nexus NI; Ms Nichola Greene, Deputy Chief Executive, Victim Support NI; Ms Sonya McMullan, Regional Services Manager, Women’s Aid NI; Dr Clíona Saidléar, Executive Director, Rape Crisis Network Ireland; Ms Deirdre Kenny, CEO, One in Four Ireland; and, Ms Shirley Scott, Policy Manager, Dublin Rape Crisis Centre. The discussion was framed around the following questions based on your experience: 1) what is the most significant current challenge in the area of violence against women and girls? and 2) how do we best address this challenge? The powerful insights provided during this session highlighted the enduring nature of violence against women and girls and the challenges presented by the normalisation of such violence.
The same week as the conference, the NI Government launched their draft Programme for Government, with Ending Violence against Women and Girls included as one their nine priority areas. This is an important step forward as we work to together to create safer and more responsive societies.
Dr Eithne Dowds would also like to thank QUB ESRC Impact Acceleration Account for funding this event, as well as Mr Deaglan Coyle, Mrs Susan Burton, and Mr Richard Summerville from the Law School for their support with organising this event and the running of the Network more generally.
For more information on the Network and how to join please visit our website.
