Irish men and the Law Reform Commission: Rights for dads wanted

The population is requesting it, and a well-respected statutory body with a track record of 70 per cent of its’ proposals resulting in reforming legislation is recommending it. What more does the State need to implement more rights for Irish fathers?

Almost 75 per cent of Irish men think paid paternity leave should be available, according to research from Quinn Healthcare quoted in the MetroHerald today.

Men in the Leinster region were the biggest supporters of time off work for dads, with 74 per cent in favour of introducing paternity leave arrangements.

Half of the 1000 men surveyed would be happy to split the time of leave with their partner, with more than 23 per cent saying they would like to stay home full-time while their partner went back to work.

Also in the news today, The Law Reform Commission has recommended a wide range of changes to family law. These include changes that would improve the rights and responsibilities of unmarried fathers, and rights for children to maintain relationships with both parents. As listed in today’s Examiner, the recommendations include:

The commission also pointed out a recommendation from 30 years back that never made it into the statute books (sound familiar?). This recommendation would have given fathers automatic rights and responsibilities in relation to guardianship.

Tagged: Fathers Rights, Guardianship, Parenthood, Paternity leave

Increase in violence against women during Christmas period

Irish women experience more frequent and more severe abuse during festive seasons, and the number of incidents of financial abuse is increasing this year, according to a press release from Women’s Aid.

Deirdre Campbell, Manager of the Women’s Aid National Freephone Helpline said:

“There are specific ways in which the Christmas period impacts on the way women are abused. Abusive men may be at home more over Christmas or may be drinking more. While alcohol is not responsible for domestic violence it does act as a dis-inhibitor for abusive men and this may lead to more violent episodes. Also, there is a notable increase of financial abuse”.

In the press release, Women’s Aid stated that financial abuse reported includes withholding money for Christmas presents and food; where the relationship has ended the abusive partner may withhold child maintenance; and forcing the woman to take debt in her name to meet the family financial needs.

The organisation highlighted that many forms of domestic abuse often continue after couples have split up, and that the extra stress surrounding Christmas has led to high numbers of women reporting financial abuse by their boyfriends, husbands and partners, as well as by ex-partners and ex-husbands.

Tagged: Domestic violence, Recession, Violence against women, Women's Aid

Another brilliant campaign from Rape Crisis Scotland

Campaigns by Rape Crisis Scotland have been featured on Feminist.ie several times, as they are brilliant in addressing the victim-blaming myth.

Last month, another new great campaign was released, directing the focus away from the victims and onto the perpetrators.

Sadly, festive seasons such as Christmas usually lead to a peak in the numbers of rape and sexual assault, so the campaign is well timed, and will hopefully reach out to a wide range of people.

Tagged: Rape, Rape Crisis Campaings, Sexualised violence, Violence against women

Landmark decision on Irish legislation on abortion

Finally, the much anticipated judgement from the so-called ‘Case of A, B and C’ in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is here.

The three women, referred to as ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’, brought their cases to be heard in the ECHR in December last year. They were supported by the Irish Family Planning Association.

All three women traveled to the UK to access abortion services.

They had different reasons for their choice to terminate their pregnancies:

‘A’ had children in state care, and was hoping to regain custody.  She felt that another pregnancy would lower the prospects of reunification with her existing family.

‘B’ became pregnant unintentionally, despite having taken the morning-after pill. She had been told by two different doctors that there was a substantial risk of an ectopic pregnancy.

‘C’ was in remission from cancer. While pregnant, but unaware of this fact, she underwent several tests in relation to her illness. On finding out about her pregnancy, she could not find a doctor in Ireland who would advice her on the risks the pregnancy posed to her own life and health, nor about potential risks the tests she had undergone could have had on the fetus.

Unable to find a doctor who would determine the level of such risks, she did not fulfill the criteria for the exceptions to the abortion ban in Ireland, namely the ‘real and sustantial risk’ to her life. She felt she had no choice but to go abroad for an abortion.

‘C’ wanted a medical procedure (termination induced by drugs). However, because such procedures require follow-up appointments, and she was a non-resident, she could not find a clinic in the UK willing to perform this. She therefore had to wait until performing a surgical abortion was possible, and underwent this procedure in the UK.

Today, it was announced that the Strasbourg court ruled that one of the women’s rights had been violated.

The court held that in the cases of ‘A’ and ‘B’, no violation of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rightsand Fundamental Freedom had taken place.

However, it was found that ‘C”s right to a lawful abortion was breached, due to the lack of “effective or accessible procedure”.

Some argue that all three women suffered from ill-health, stigma and violation to their rights of privacy by having to travel abroad for the procedures. These are very important arguments which hopefully will lead to further debate on the issue.

On the positive side, the decision has raised awareness around Irish legislation on abortion, and particularly around the state’s unwillingness to implement legislation and procedures that take into consideration the (very limited) exceptions to the abortion ban.

Following the judgement in the X-case in 1992, abortions should be accessible in Ireland when a woman’s life is at risk. As illustrated by complainant ‘C’ in this case, the state has yet to follow up its’ legal obligations 18 years after this Supreme Court decision.

The ECHR has legally binding status in all the 47 states signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights; thus including Ireland. As a result of today’s ruling, the state is now obliged to provide a legal exception to the abortion ban.

The ECHR judgement has highlighted the state’s failure to implement this piece of legislation for the past 18 years, and hopefully this means that such legal exceptions to the abortion restriction will be implemented shortly.

Today’s landmark decision has been heavily discussed in the media, including in the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Choice Ireland, Catholics for Choice, the Anti-room (and not to forget their brilliant piece from yesterday), the Irish Family Planning Association, Journal.ie, the New York Times, the Guardian, and many, many more.

I have however received a tip via Twitter that the Pro-Life campaign has a ‘more informed and balanced’ take on the case than the mainstream media, and been referred to read up on it here and here.

Finally, I would like to thank these three fantastic women for their strength and bravery, and for their commitment to fight for the right to choice and the right to privacy to make personal decisions on private matters.

Tagged: Abortion, Choice, Health, Legislation, Women's Rights

All I want for Christmas….

Is Amanda Visell’s range of posters (“Show girls they can do anything”):

See more of her work here.

Tagged: Challenging stereotypes, Children, Feminist role models, Strong women

FIFA top 10 goals 2010

The sports section isn’t exactly the place to find the highest representation of women. But this years’ FIFA ranking of the top 10 soccer goals includes a nice surprise!

Tagged: FIFA, soccer, Sport, Women in sport

Role model of the week: Régine Chassagne

I think women playing the drums are the coolest people in the world. There’s just something about the thought of a girl taking a seat behind a drum set, thinking ‘this is my thing’ that really fascinates me.

At the Arcade Fire gig in Dublin last night, I fell in love with Régine Chassagne. Is there an instrument she doesn’t play?

Tagged: Music, Role models

Would you interfere if your neighbour was subjected to domestic violence?

A shocking video posted on YouTube by the South African organisation People Against Women Abuse shows residents in a neighbourhood in Johannesburg being quick to complain about a guy playing drums, but not reacting to the noise of domestic violence.

Fran Luckin, creator of the film, said to the Guardian:

We weren’t sure what was going to happen. We were astonished. People complained about the drums within minutes. We played the sound of domestic violence three times and there was nothing.

It’s a horrendous sound – we really took it over the top. We were hiding in the house and thought somebody would come with a gun, but they just looked away. It was a real eye-opener. I think nobody really believes that someone dies in a domestic argument.

While we are over half way into this year’s 16 Days of Action, the international campaign highlighting violence against women, I wonder if a similar experiment would have a different outcome in Ireland. Although the answer to that question is unknown, the below statistics from Women’s Aid sadly give little indication that 2010 will be the last year requiring 16 Days of Action:

Over 14,000 incidents of domestic violence in Ireland were disclosed to the Women’s Aid National Freephone Helpline in 2009.

The year before 10,401 applications for protective orders under the Domestic Violence Act was made.

In a one-day survey by SAFE Ireland on 4th November 2009, 368 women and 291 children were accommodated and/or received support from a domestic violence service; 184 helpline calls were received from women; 11 women and 16 children were admitted to refuge while 6 women could not be accommodated due to lack of space.

Since 1996, 166 women have been murdered in the Republic. 102 women (61%) were killed in their own homes.

Tagged: Domestic violence, Violence against women, Women's Aid