Womens Rights
Fighting For Women’s Rights
Although much has been done to improve women’s position in Irish society, women are still not full and equal participants at all levels. I have a long track record of campaigning as a feminist to ensure greater gender equality. I believe that in order to ensure that women genuinely have the right to choose, the State must provide access to free or subsidised childcare facilities, in order to increase women’s participation in the workforce and to ensure greater work/life balance in the workplace. I believe in :
Provision of decent, affordable and well-regulated state-funded childcare facilities.
Greater access to, choice in and free availability of contraceptive services.
Legalisation of abortion as part of a comprehensive policy to provide full reproductive health services to all women and men.
Violence Against Women
The issue of violence against women must also be addressed urgently. In 1998 I co-ordinated an EU-funded study into rape law in different European jurisdictions. One of the recommendations made in that study was for the introduction of separate legal representation for complainants (victims) in rape trials. Following our recommendation, a limited scheme for such representation was introduced in the Sex Offenders Act, 2001. I will continue to campaign for enhanced protections for victims of rape and sexual offences; and for greater resourcing of those organisations like Women’s Aid offering support to victims of domestic violence.
Women In Law
Finally, women are still not equal players in the professions or in the workplace. In 2001, I and two colleagues in Trinity College, Cathryn Costello and Dr. Eileen Drew of the Dept of Statistics, were awarded funding from the Department of Justice to carry out the first comprehensive survey of women in the law. Over 18 months, we gathered data in order to discover, through the use of questionnaires and interviews, whether discrimination against women exists in the legal professions or in legal employment. Our report and recommendations on how to improve the position of women in the law represents an important resource for the furtherance of women’s equality at work (Report title: Gender InJustice, launched 24th October 2003). For further information on this project please see: www.tcd.ie/Law/WomeninLaw.html
