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'Translating pain into action: A study of gender-based violence and minority ethnic women in Ireland' (24.02.2009)

Address by LAUNCHED BY THE OMBUDSMAN, MS. EMILY O’REILLY at THE WOMEN'S HEALTH COUNCIL REPORT

"Culture of secrecy and shame must stop for abused ethnic minority women including traveller women".

I am very pleased to be with you today officially to launch the Council's study report of gender-based violence (GBV) and minority ethnic women in Ireland, aptly titled, "Translating pain into action", together with a Principles of Best Practice information leaflet and a Services and Organisation Directory. In the current economic climate I sincerely hope that this action plan will be progressed. It is always the most vulnerable who suffer disproportionately at times like this and many of the people whose plight you speak of in this report have the additional burdens of language barriers, insecure immigration status, and isolation from family and community.

GBV is an acronym not many people will be familiar with but we are all aware of GBH in the criminal context. I hope that by publicising this research study, GBV will gain as much traction and familiarity in the public mind as GBH  because in order to do something about a problem you have to know about it and understand it first.. Above all, you have to name it.

As Ombudsman, I tend to get a lot of invitations to various speaking events but few on issues as serious and life threatening as this and I was delighted to accept the invitation of your Director, Geraldine Luddy to launch these three valuable publications.

In the health area, while my remit extends to investigating complaints about the HSE, it may not be widely known that it includes agencies, such as charities and voluntary bodies, that deliver health and social services on behalf of the HSE. It is possible that some of the people whose experiences are described in this report may some day seek the help of my Office if the services they have attempted to access have let them down. My Office has also developed useful links with the Irish Immigration Council, and with St Vincent De Paul, both agencies that can help in bringing this issue further into the light and guide its women victims towards support and solace.

Violence against any human being diminishes us all, is unacceptable and must never be tolerated or condoned. Because of their vulnerability and the unequal relationship with men in many countries and cultures, the effect of violence against women, whether physical or mental, is disproportionate. In other words, as women we suffer more and find it more difficult to defend ourselves.

Many of the global statistics on GBV are immensely disturbing. In the 1994 Rwandan genocide, between a quarter and half a million women were raped. World-wide again 40%-70% of homicides of women are committed by intimate partners. The international Organisation for Migration estimates that up to 2 million women are trafficked across borders every year. Over 90 million African women are estimated to have undergone female genital mutilation with catastrophic effects on their health and quality of life. Some as you know have fled their homes to escape this barbaric practice. Some 49% of Kenyan women report experiencing violence in their lifetime. With sexual abuse, women face the added horror of rejection within their community and the threats of Aids, HIV or other consequential diseases. The list goes on.

All women potentially face the risk of physical attack. Neither class nor colour can protect you, yet, depending on the situation, cultural or geographical, the colour of your skin, or even your age or physical appearance can all influence the perpetration of violence against you, as a woman.

While the Study Report being launched today focuses on violence against women, GBV does cross all barriers and violence, is also perpetrated against men by women but this crime is more likely to be hidden, irrespective of  sexual orientation. Research by the National Crime Council found that 15% of women and 6% of men suffer severe domestic abuse. An equal amount of men and women suffer physical abuse - 13%. Yet while 29% of women report to the Gardaí only 5% of men do so. Voluntary groups like Amen and others provide an invaluable support service for male victims of abuse and their families, which I would like to acknowledge. It is also clear from global observation and research that gay men suffer greater isolation and victimisation within certain cultures and it would be unrealistic to think that that abuse does not survive migration to more benign cultures. It is an area also worth exploring.

As far back as 1993 the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against women recognised the urgent need for the universal application to women of the rights and principles with regard to equality, security, liberty, integrity and dignity of all human beings. It also recognised that violence against women is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position as compared to men and that such violence in the family and society is pervasive. So this is not a new phenomenon or an infrequent problem but it is endemic globally and that is a shameful thing to have to admit.

Turning to your study findings, that minority women are significantly over -represented among women who access GBV support services, at a figure of 13 %, while making up only 5% of the general population,  this clearly identifies that segment of our population as needing help and particular attention.. When you factor in the day-to-day living problems which come with being a migrant worker, asylum seeker or refugee in a strange land, one gets some sense as to how difficult their lives can be with the added threat of violence hanging over them. An additional factor is fear of the authorities, an understandable concern that if they draw attention to themselves in any way, their chance of a new life in this country might be compromised. I must also say that I was struck by the high percentage of our own traveller women over fifteen who also availed of GBV support services, in percentage terms, higher than that of other minority ethnic women. This brings home to us that no nationality is immune from this problem. The research also points up the number of women who are being abused but not seeking help from the support services, an enormously worrying issue.

I want, nonetheless, to sound a note of warning about the sensitivities of these issues in terms of people with agendas that seek to stigmatise individual sections of the minority ethnic community because of the particular ethnic background that they come from. This report must not be used, or rather, abused by them. GBV affects all cultures, and while the power dynamic between the genders in some cultures might provoke greater abuse of women, the comparatively higher numbers of women from those cultures seeking external agency help might in some cases be explained by the lack of family or other support for them within their own communities. Indeed many of the women did report that the absence of community support, for cultural reasons, was one of the factors driving them towards external agencies.

And we, as predominantly white Irish men and women, cannot sit smugly on the sidelines and pretend that we are in someway more evolved than other cultures as regards this area of modern life. If we are more evolved, we have only reached that point of evolution a hair's breadth ahead of many other cultures.

In Ireland we have long had a culture of secrecy and shame, a culture that was used to cover up our social ills. Unwanted pregnancy, or even perceived inappropriately sexualised behaviour, prompted nothing less than banishment from society for thousands of Irish women, many of whom were literally incarcerated for life as punishment, whether in Magdalen laundries or other state endorsed institutions. We must never forget that it is within the living memory of practically everybody in this room that effective Gender Based Violence was institutionalised in this State. The women may not have been physically beaten, although I've no doubt that in many cases, they were, but they were very comprehensively punished nonetheless.

On a less malign front, Irishwomen, up until very recent times, were victims also of State approved discrimination in relation to employment, finance, the ownership of the family home, the sort of supports without which many fell victim to the abusive control of the more economically powerful partner. Our particular historical, economic and social evolution in the last handful of decades has put paid to much of that; other cultures, who have experienced different histories may still be playing catch up and it is the stories of the female members of these cultures that we read about today in your report. These women report of being controlled by men who hold their fragile immigration status over their heads, who are financially in control, and who inhabit communities where the men are awarded the upper hand. It is a fine line therefore between culturally approved control and abuse.  This in turn prompts the feelings described by the women in the pages of this report of powerlessness, fear, confusion and shame, feelings all too well known to previous generations of indigenous Irishwomen.  And that culture of secrecy and shame must stop for our newly arrived sisters as well. Wouldn't it be wonderful if their lasting experience of their lives in Ireland was an end to their abuse?

Your study has 15 pages of conclusions and recommendations broken out between policy and suggested changes in governing laws, service planning and delivery to make it more efficient and effective as well as more targeted research, empowerment and training initiatives.

A key recommendation centres on raising awareness among minority ethnic women of GBV support services and their rights and entitlements regarding GBV. I believe this is absolutely crucial. In publicising the service provided by my Office mediating complaints against public bodies, we always stress that the service is free, independent and impartial. It is also confidential. The most important thing to get across is that we are here, it is easy to contact us - lo call etc. - we want to help, it won’t cost you anything and all our dealings are as confidential as you want it to be. The message applies to GBV support services. There are people out there such as social workers, teachers, librarians and medical professionals who may not be aware or fully aware of the extent of GBV or the range of GBV supports available. Once they know more about GBV and the abuse of these women, they and others who come into contact with them can keep a watchful eye for signs of abuse and be able to direct them to the specialist support services. Many women use Post Offices, Citizen Advice Centres, Fas Centres, places of religious worship on a regular basis, all of which can be used to get the message out.

We do need to raise awareness of GBV in general. For example, there are some organisations listed as useful contacts in the new resource booklet which are relatively unfamiliar but are doing sterling work. All three publications will prove to be invaluable tools in spreading the word about GBV and about the help and comfort that is available to minority ethnic women who find themselves trapped and want a way out.

I commend the Board of the Women's Health Council, and a formidable board it is, for launching this initiative. You have put forward a platform of much needed reform which can move minority ethnic women away from victimhood, intimidation and coercion and which should be taken on board by our legislators and policymakers. You have my full support. We have a common duty from the human rights perspective to make a special effort to reach out to the most vulnerable and marginalised women in society such as minority ethnic women. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights demands nothing less.

I also commend your Report to the Minister for Health and Children to whom you act in an advisory capacity on women's health issues. I would be confident that you will get a sympathetic hearing. Sometimes it can help to have a sister in charge.    

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