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WOMEN IN IRELAND have long had to fight for progress, equality, and self-determination, and there are very few who believe that the struggle is over.
This month, The Journal is taking a deep dive into gender equality in Ireland as part of The Good Information Project.
As part of our coverage, we’ve compiled an A-to-Z list of some of the key moments in Irish women’s historical, legislative and policy landmarks, as well as what steps might be taken to further gender equality in the coming years.
Article 41.2
This infamous article of Bunreacht na hÉireann codified an antiquated idea of a woman’s role in Irish society. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission notes that even as the Constitution was being drafted “its treatment of women in Article 41.2 and other provisions was the single biggest policy issues which dominated much of the debate at the time both inside and outside the Dáil”.
Its first clause reads: “In particular, the State recognises that by her life within the home, woman gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot be achieved.”
Last year, the Citizen’s Assembly on Gender Equality recommended that the wording be deleted and replaced via referendum.
Bill of rights for women
In 1985, Ireland acceded to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), also known as the ‘bill of rights for women’.
It was a landmark agreement, first adopted in 1979, which has since been ratified by 189 countries.
The CEDAW Committee in 2017 published a report on Ireland’s compliance with its international obligations and found “several crucial gaps” with respect to Magdalene Laundries and Mother and Baby Homes, laws targeting gender-based violence, and issues specifically affecting Traveler women.
Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act, 1990
Until 1990, the wording of Ireland’s Criminal Law (Rape) Act provided for the hypothetical defence that a husband could not be guilty of the rape of his wife.
Following advice from the Law Reform Commission in 1987, the new statute abolished “any rule of law by virtue of which a husband cannot be guilty of the rape of his wife.” This was enacted in 1990, just 32 years ago.
Divorce referendum
Divorce was not allowed in Ireland until 1996. Article 41.3.2 of the Constitution originally stated that “no law shall be enacted providing for the grant of a dissolution of marriage.” This was deleted following a closely-fought referendum in 1995, in which the Yes side won by fewer than 10,000 votes (50.28% to 49.72%) and a law was passed the next year effecting the change.
There remain complicating factors when it comes to getting a divorce in Ireland, however, such as a legal requirement to have lived separately for two of the three years preceding the divorce.
European Institute for Gender Equality
The EIGE, an agency of the EU, produces a yearly Gender Equality Index. Most recently, Ireland ranked seventh of 27 EU member states when all categories such as health, work and knowledge were taken into account.
However, Ireland scores in the lower half of the index when it specifically looked at political power — owing largely to a lack of women in parliament and in local government.
Family Home Protection Act, 1976
Until 1976, it was possible for a man to sell a shared property without obtaining either the knowledge or consent of his partner. The 1976 law, introduced under Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave, prevents one spouse or civil partner from selling, mortgaging, leasing or transferring the family/shared home without the consent of their partner.
Gender Recognition Act
In 2007, the High Court ruled that Ireland was in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights in not having a process to legally recognise the acquired gender of transgender people.
The Gender Recognition Act was introduced to enable people over the age of 16 to apply to change their gender in the eyes of the law.
Health (Family Planning) (Amendment) Act 1992
Contraceptives were not available to women in Ireland without a prescription until as recently as 1993.
While condoms had been available since 1985, the original 1979 Act which codified the situation allowed only for other contraception to be made available at the behest of a doctor, rather than widely available. Then-Minister for Health Charlie Haughey called the law “an Irish solution to an Irish problem“, which writer John Drennan described as “a renowned turn of phrase on how to sidestep a fundamental issue”.
This appraisal of the policy was savaged by TD Noel Browne, who called it “a Roman Catholic solution to an Irish problem.”
Irish Women’s Liberation Movement
A 1970s feminist activist group in Ireland comprising such members as writer Nell McCafferty, the IWLM was behind the ‘contraceptive train’ protest. In May of 1971, members of the group travelled to Northern Ireland to obtain products which were illegal in Ireland, including condoms, spermicidal products and birth-control pills.
Justice department
In 1997, Ireland’s Department of Justice commissioned a report by a Task Force on Violence Against Women. 25 years on, key recommendations of the report have still not been implemented.
The report called for a National Strategy on Violence Against Women for the implementation of the Task Force’s recommendations, and to ensure “a coordinated and coherent strategy both to address the needs of victims and to seriously tackle its root causes.”
Key Objectives
We are now two years into the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025, which aims to foster a gender-equal Europe. It cites its key objectives as: “ending gender-based violence; challenging gender stereotypes; closing gender gaps in the labour market; achieving equal participation across different sectors of the economy; addressing the gender pay and pension gaps; closing the gender care gap and achieving gender balance in decision-making and in politics.”
Leadership roles
The third Balance for Better Business report, published in 2020 as part of an independent review group established by the government to improve gender balance in senior business leadership, found that 38% of Irish listed companies have no women on their leadership team.
One recommendation of the Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality suggested “enacting gender quota legislation that requires private companies to have at least 40% gender balance according to specific criteria such as turnover, number of employees etc.”
Marriage Bar
Married women were legally prohibited from holding jobs in the public and civil service until 1973. The marriage bar was finally lifted following a recommendation by the Commission on the Status of Women, who noted that over 2,000 women had been forced to resign their positions in the public service in the preceding three years alone.
National Maternity Hospital
A proposal to relocate Ireland’s National Maternity Hospital to the Elm Park campus of St Vincent’s Healthcare Group was met with great consternation when it was revealed the hospital would be on land owned by the Sisters of Charity order of nuns.
Groups such as the Campaign Against Church Ownership of Women’s Healthcare argue that a maternity hospital should not be housed on private land owned by a religious order, and while the Sisters of Charity have announced their intention to “gift” the land to the state, such a transfer has yet to take place.
One in four
Charity group Women’s Aid say that one in four women in Ireland are in or have been in an abusive relationship. In 2020, Women’s Aid recorded 29,717 contacts and 30,841 disclosures of abuse, the vast majority of which were against women and girls.
Pay Gap Information Act
Since July 2021, companies of a certain size (250 employees or more) have been required by law to publish their gender pay gap in Ireland.
OECD-Eurostat figures from 2018 put Ireland’s gender pay gap at 11.3% in 2018, narrowly better than the EU average of 14.4%.
Quotas
Ireland sorely lags when it comes to participation of women in government, ranking 100 out of 187 countries when it comes to parliamentary representation.
Less than one quarter of the TDs elected to the 33rd Dáil in 2020 were women and just four of the country’s 15 Cabinet ministers are women. At a local level, the make-up is similar, with women taking 25% of seats at the most recent council elections.
Ireland currently has a 30% gender quota for party candidates at general elections, but the Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality has recommended that this be bumped to 40%.
Repeal the Eighth
Decades of activism for reproductive rights in Ireland culminated in 2018 with the Repeal the Eighth movement’s success in changing the Irish constitution by referendum to allow for abortions for any reason up to 12 weeks, and in a limited number of situations after 12 weeks.
After a deeply contentious public debate over the issue of abortion, the Eighth amendment – which prohibited abortion – was removed with a landslide 66.9% share of the public vote. Abortion in Ireland is now legislated by the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018.
Savita Halappanavar
The tragic death of 31-year-old Savita Halappanavar in University Hospital Galway acted as a catalyst for the Repeal the Eighth movement. In 2012, Ms Halappanavar presented with a medical emergency while pregnant, was denied a termination and later died due to sepsis.
A 2013 report by the HIQA determined that “a failure in the provision of the most basic elements of patient care to Savita Halappanavar and also the failure to recognise and act upon signs of her clinical deterioration in a timely and appropriate manner”. Savita’s death has come to be recognised as a flashpoint in the struggle for appropriate healthcare for women in Ireland.
Tuam
A town in Galway, Tuam has become the by-word for the mistreatment of women and children that occurred at Mother and Baby Homes across in Ireland.
On foot of reporting by local historian Catherine Corless, a test excavation of one such Bon Secours home revealed a significant number of human remains. Corless has estimated that as many as 796 babies may be buried at the site, and it is hoped that a full exhumation will take place this year.
Unpaid labour
According to the report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality, twice as many unpaid female as male carers provide over 43 hours of care per week.
Last year, the assembly recommended a measure by which these predominantly female ‘qualified adults’ receive their own social protection payments in future instead of being dependent for income on the main social protection recipient.
Vicky Phelan
Campaigner Vicky Phelan came to the forefront of public attention during the 2018 CervicalCheck scandal, when it became known that 162 women had not been informed that an audit had found that mistakes were made in the analysis of their cervical scans.
Phelan, who has been living with cancer since 2014, has since fought fiercely for greater transparency in the Irish healthcare system and greater respect for women’s healthcare issues. She was awarded the Freedom of Limerick City in 2021, and named as one of the BBC’s 100 Women in 2018.
“Women and Men in Ireland”
The Central Statistics Office regularly publishes “Women and Men in Ireland”, a compendium of key statistics which enable us to map progress achieved towards de facto gender equality in Ireland. The most recent edition of the report was published in 2019.
The X Case
A precursor to the Repeal movement, Attorney General vs X was a case that came before the Irish Supreme Court in 1992, establishing the right of an Irish woman to an abortion if there was a threat to the woman’s life through suicide.
The case involved a 14-year-old girl and ward of the state who had been the victim of rape, and Attorney General Harry Whelehan sought an injunction to prevent her from procuring a termination. Ultimately, the Irish Supreme Court ruled in favour of X.
(Together For) Yes
An lobby group comprising several different campaigns – including the National Women’s Council of Ireland, Coalition to Repeal the 8th Amendment, the Abortion Rights Campaign and the Ireland Family Planning Association, the Yes campaign demonstrated the power of civil society and grassroots campaigns to bring about major legislative change in Ireland.
Zappone & Gilligan vs Revenue Commissioners
While former Minister for Children Katherine Zappone’s most recent contributions to the Irish news cycle are less illustrious, in 2006 she and her wife Ann Louise Gilligan challenged the Irish state to recognise their Canadian same-sex marriage.
While the court case was unsuccessful, it stood brought about a wave of attention that contributed to the introduction of civil partnerships for gay couples in Ireland four years later, and the 2015 referendum on Marriage Equality.
This work is co-funded by Journal Media and a grant programme from the European Parliament. Any opinions or conclusions expressed in this work is the author’s own. The European Parliament has no involvement in nor responsibility for the editorial content published by the project. For more information, see here.
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Looks like he’s lost a few pounds over the last few weeks.
My very first thought. Weight loss clinics in Zimbabwe. Now there’s an idea
Comparing the two photos, he doesn’t even look as if he’s from the same ethnic group as he was in the lion kill photo.
I hope his teeth fall out!
Don’t agree with what he did and he has been named and shamed for this and he deserves it but what about the thousands of poachers across Africa and other areas that are killing animals every day and selling the tusks or rhino horns or whatever it might be for mad amounts of money..seems like a bit of double standards going on, why not go after these people instead of a one man witch hunt.
I suppose the poachers do it as they are poor and don’t understand the impact of their actions…..whereas a rich white educated guy should know better.
Yeah but just cause they’re poor does that make it ok? I agree with what you say about he should know better but again he’s not the only one doing this and there’s picture all over the Internet of rich people killing giraffes, rhinos, elephants and other lions but none of them are being strung up like this guy..I just think we should everyone like the way this guy is getting it or what’s the point, other people will still do it cause they’re getting away with it! Again this guy fully deserves what’s happening to him!
I never said being poor made it OK….just pointing out different thought processes.
Fair point..I just think we should do the same to everyone and not pick and choose
I’m amazed he has any patients left!!
What is Les Ferdinand doing at the picket?
And Zak Dingle from Emmerdale (he’s lost weight)
Teeth, pliers, no anaesthetic… Justice, the bas*#rd
Are you going to tell us what time he gets home and what he has for his dinner too
come on now enough on this story quit milking it altogether
Ah go shoot a baby rhino!!!!
The sicko had a cup of tea and 4 jaffa cakes during a gap between clients
He’s an awful human being and a disgrace to our species. He deserves all the hatred and then some. Think of all the positive things you could do with that money and he chooses to kill a majestic animal instead.
the man killed a lion he did not molest children or shoot multiplies of people or commit war crimes get some perspective in your life.
If the best thing you can say about someone is that he didn’t commit genocide or pedophilia it’s pretty safe to say he’s an a$$hole.
The man has taken pleasure in the murder of countless healthy animals, many endangered, some illegally. If one of those species eventually goes extinct, he will have helped with that extinction.
A$$hole is being too kind..
perspective
People are also forgetting that he was accused of sexual misconduct in the past. This guy is certainly not a saint and should answer for at least one of the crimes he’s committed.
Dunno about you but being ‘accused’ of something means nothing to me. Being convicted or reprimanded on the other hand is a very different thing. Innocent until proven guilty is still a thing, right?
He was accused that does not mean he committed a sex crime You fool. Innocent till proven guilty. Many people also wrongly make such claims. In USA medical people are a target for such accusations it’s about money. But to be clear medical people are just as likely to commit such acts as any other profession. Stick with the facts.
He should have just blamed the other guy in the photo.
Innocent until you run out of money
Gob daw getting what he deserves,,, getting his jollies from slowly killing an animal with a bow and arrow?! Blood junkie $cum,,
The guy is a bit of a $cumbag and his guide broke the law. I subscribe to multiple animal charities myself and I find what he did to be a disgrace, but a media scrum around his dental practice is just unfair. He didn’t break any law that I know of so leave him alone.
He actually broke a few laws- he conspired with his guide to lure a lion out of a conservation area which they did not have a license to kill, then killed it. Once killed, they destroyed a tracking collar, also illegal, then cut the lions head off and absconded, leaving the scene of their crime. He then left the country to avoid being questioned.
Previously he was convicted of killing a bear without license too.
Do we know for sure that it was him that destroyed the collar, and do we know that he was aware he was luring the animal away from the sanctioned areas? Do you have anything to back those assertions up? I’m curious myself.
The guides evidence in court stated this
Thanks, I’ll have a look at his statements.
Malachi he broke lots of laws
What he did was phucked in the head but the protesters are just phucked in the head in a different way.
Your synopsis is pfukt in the head, but it’s about the best one going here!
you will find that this is mostly a non story in the states as the gun lobby are huge and most people hunt over there its mostly people in Europe that get the vapors over this type of thing. so called liberals that think all life is sacred but call for somebody to be hanged for killing an animal but when an animal kills a human they this that it was tough tittty and this was some type of karma priorities all wrong.
No. Animals who kill humans do it as a result of instinct/survival. Humans also kill billions of animals every year for the same reason (food).
This a$$hole on the other hand, killed an animal for no other reason than to feed his ego. That’s what’s riling people up.
People have humanised animals and dehumanised people. Lion gets shot hang the bastàrd . While USA war machine kills collateral (people that don’t matter). I have a theory. War movies and Disney. War movies makes war look cool and exciting. Disney gives (animation) human qualities to animals. I have a friend that is a vet his wife is a doctor. Both are very caring and lovely people. They have many a conversation and they both believe our priorities are up our **** . I have another mate who worked in a lab in UK and. they had to look for bombs under their car every evening and take security measures. These are fundamentalist and as far as their concerned animals before humans. I don’t expect this post to be popular, so all you Disneyfied amadàns have a go
Agree that there does seem to be an underwhelming response from the Internet on some human rights issues, but that still doesn’t make this any less of a despicable act.
And no offence, but that Disney/War Movie theory is a little far-fetched… And by a little, I mean a lot.
Nice David Burns. And you’re touching on a much bigger question / subject. But sure enough of that for now. Let the red thumbs roll.
Actually, it’s a huge story in the states .
@Patorikku Reen had this “a$$hole” as you call him killed a lion that was not a celebrity this would be a non event but because we humanised an animal it offends our sensibilities. Game hunting is used as a conservation tool as it is used to control animals that are nearing the end of their natural life and would be killed by others of their own species or predators, it provides a revenue stream for the conservation of these animals the animals are also used for bush meat for local villages and towns and also provides employment for trackers as well. this is a type of farming it is responsible hunting that aims to preserve the species not like the grand tours that happened when this trade was unregulated and all types of animal were hunted too near and total extinction.
Lee Jones, your comment is so full of BS, I don’t know where to start. Trophy hunters go for healthy trophy animals, not the old and weak. As little as 3% of revenue from trophy hunting actually gets to conservation. If hunters actually wanted to help conservation, why don’t they just donate the money to conservation charities?.. Because they get off on power from killing. Simple.
@Lee Jones
K
okay go with your version then sick of trying to talk sense to people but they let emotion get in the way of a proper debate you are entitled to your opinion and i am entitled to state the facts we will leave it at that. bye now
But your facts are wrong! Trophy hunting is counter – evolutionary. And it’s having a damaging effect on certain species. Do some more research, please. http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/19/opinions/trophy-hunting-not-conservation-flocken/
It’s big here in the U.S.
research the war move bit, you will discover that Hollywood is supported by the USA war machine it is fact that it helps to win over young teenage boys and part of conditioning the rest of society (siopps) not sure of spelling. it’s not all far fetched
Did I miss something? Do people now give a $h!t about what happens in Africa?
edgy
He has every right to continue living his life and doing his job he broke no laws. It’s the protesters want their heads checked.
They lured him off the compound then killed him….. That was breaking the law. I’m not one of these animal activists but how people can kill these already endangered species is beyond comprehension
The head looks great on you
How many million/billion chickens have been killed since this clown shot the lion?
Just saying …
And I’m a veggie and animal lover
Ask McD’s.
Just because you can’t change everything for the better, doesn’t mean you stop high lighting as$ hats like this buffoon,,
45k pffffft. I paid 700 Euro to kill a rhino with a 45 calaber rifle and another 560 to keep its head
You are $cum if that’s true and you can’t spell.
Didn’t he take him, not kill him ?
A complete Jerk, of a type peculiar to Minnesota, the deranged hunting dentist.There have been many examples, including members of my extended family, each one a demented, would-be he- man throwback to the white conquest days of the 19th century macho big – game hunter. This thrillingly ignorant combination often includes overt racism, hypocritical displays of “faith” and ” patriotism”, and an utter disregard for the feelings of female relations– particularly wives. Repulsive, and until recently, thought to be themselves on the endangered list– apparently not.
you are the complete jerk hunting and treating or treatment of women have no coralation I am not saying what he did was right but if you want to win an argument stick with facts not bulshí t your type is not helping argument
I recon he’s been through enough and I know how Zimbabweans are so I don’t say he wholly to blame !
Whether it was an honest mistake or not this guy made a huge mistake and must realise that now. What is going on in his professional life and that of his patients and employees is totally disproportionate to what happened here . He must be allowed rebuild his personal and professional life . Every saint has a past right ?
Well surely every sinner has a future ?
Only if he regrets it/ pays for the crime etc. The tw@t has done neither and will probably continue to kill endangered animals, illegally if he must. He deserves all if it and more..
I don’t think much of people who kill animals for sport, especially if the animals in question are both fairly intelligent and Inedible. But this whole thing has gotten quite out of proportion now. 5000 children per day die because of dirty drinking water in sub-saharan Africa but the internet is more concerned over the last couple of weeks with Cecil the lion.
I think people genuinely feel far more emotion for the death of one lion than for a thousand members if our own species. Even when whole groups of people are facing imminent, preventable death by the multitude, it makes little difference.
I don’t think anything will change until babies are genetically engineered to be born with fur. Someone should start a lobby group to demand the research of “Furry Babies”.
Chinese are paying locals even less to kill rhino and elephants which is having an even worse effect than Cecil’s dentist
GET SOME FCUKING PERSPECTIVE PEOPLE.
have your say