Women’s Aid Marks 50th Anniversary

21st November 2024

Posted In: The Topic

Today, Women’s Aid, a national frontline organisation working to prevent and address domestic abuse including coercive control in Ireland is marking its 50th Anniversary with a one-day landmark conference in Dublin city centre.

The organisation, which was founded in 1974 by the late Nuala Fennell, conservatively estimates that it has responded to at least 600,000 contacts from women across generations.

Fifty years ago, Women’s Aid began with a letter, which turned out to be a catalyst, and the organisation hopes that marking five decades by bringing together hundreds of key stakeholders from across Ireland to focus on present challenges and solutions will be a catalyst for continuing ideas, partnerships, passion and innovation to accelerate Ireland towards that goal of equality and zero tolerance.

Sarah Benson, CEO of Women’s Aid (pictured) says: “The 50th Anniversary of the foundation of Women’s Aid truly is an opportune moment in time to reflect on where Ireland is at, in the continuing work to combat male violence against women and to achieve gender equality. We have made much progress but there is so much more to do.

Gender based violence remains a scourge on Irish society and limits the potential of all women and girls affected.

In Ireland, one in three women suffer psychological abuse (FRA, 2014) and one in four women have experienced sexual violence from a partner (CSO, 2023).

Women’s Aid research found that one in five young women had experienced abuse by an intimate partner before the age of 25.  Over half of these young women experienced the abuse under the age of 18.

This should not be ‘a fact of life’.   We have, within our grasp, a unique opportunity to really create a zero tolerance of violence and create an equal society for women and girls.

Crucially, we need more male leaders across all sectors and strata in society to step up and become a strong voice to call out everyday sexism, misogyny and gender inequality.”

Sarah continues: “We live in a world where women’s and girls’ rights and opportunities are under attack, where democracy itself is more fragile in the face of increased levels of authoritarianism across the globe. We have online environments that are telling women and girls that their worth is vested in how thin they are, how beautiful and how ready for the sex depicted in pornography.  At the same time, there is a different gendered experience influencing so many young men and boys online and we are struggling to get in front of messages of masculine alienation and algorithms that draw them down rabbit holes into deeply misogynistic spaces.”

In this context, and with a General Election just a week away, Women’s Aid is monitoring how the main political parties are addressing gender-based violence and gender inequality in their party manifestos.

Sarah explains: “It is concerning that, despite remaining so pervasive, damaging and costly to women, families and communities across Ireland, domestic abuse is not being given due prioritisation in many party manifestos. While most of the manifestos mention domestic, sexual and gender-based violence to some extent, none set it out as a main priority.

Domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is a matter of great urgency. It is a public health issue, it is a crime issue, it is a housing issue, it is an education issue, and it is an economic issue.

We are calling for all parties to publicly commit to the continuation and full resourcing of the National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence. It must be a priority in the next programme for government.”

To support work to progress efforts in Ireland to reduce abuse and increase gender equality Women’s Aid, in partnership with Core, is also launching new research today, “Evolving Manhood: Attitudes, Influence, and Well-being Among Irish Men.”

The main focus was to further understand men’s attitudes to women and manhood, the researchers surveyed 1,000 adults, representative of the Irish adult population, who were asked several questions about perceptions of manhood and the attitudes men express.

It found that 61% of men in Ireland have low levels of agreement with more traditional views of manhood, such as “Men should be the ones to bring money home to provide for their families, not women,” “Guys should act strong even if they feel scared or nervous inside,” and “A man who talks a lot about his worries, fears, and problems shouldn’t really get respect.” This highlights the evolving views men have about male identity, a more moderate view of masculinity. However, 39% of men agree or are uncertain about these perceptions of manhood and can be classified as “Traditionalists.” Compared to the “Moderate” group (3 in 5 men), Traditionalists are more likely to be younger men, with 67% of men aged 18-29 years old holding more traditional views, or less certain about more moderate views.

In general, young men in Ireland are turning to digital forums, YouTube and podcasts to learn about topics, including their identity and role in society.

The research shows that when asked what challenges men face, ‘Traditionalists’ cited being the financial provider and difficulty expressing vulnerabilities, while ‘Moderates’ suggested mental health challenges and loneliness or need for social connection amongst men.

Of most concern, is how the two groups viewed relationships. While ‘Moderates’ rejected dominance and control, half of the ‘Traditionalist’ group agree that “men who don’t dominate in relationships aren’t real men (52%),” that “a man’s worth is measured by power and control over others (54%)” and “Real men shouldn’t have to care about women’s opinions or feelings (46%).” This view towards relationships explains wider views on gender equality with only half of Traditionalists agreeing that men should be involved in conversations about gender equality or advocate for equality between men and women.

Speaking about the findings, Finian Murphy, from Core Research said: “This research reveals how most men in Ireland have an evolved view of manhood, away from traditional attitudes of strength, stoicism and being the primary provider. However, with 2 in 5 men holding these attitudes, particularly younger men, there is a link with attitudes that can be harmful towards women, children, and men themselves.

As we mark 50 years of Women’s Aid’s important work, there is an opportunity for more men to become advocates for change and encourage younger men to be more moderate in their views.”

Sarah Benson notes: “There are real encouragements and useful insights to be taken from this report.

We can see clear opportunities for intergenerational dialogue between older and younger men who may be internalising more traditionalist views of masculinity, power and dominance due to the outsized influence of online role models.

There is a paradox that emerges where we see that those men who feel pressure externally to behave and act in more traditionalist ways are internalising views that are not necessarily supported by the majority of other men and women. These are insights that can help support more men and boys to espouse a moderate, more egalitarian, more emotionally connected form of masculinity.

“However, this cannot be an individual project but a societal one. We cannot ignore the inbuilt systemic gender inequalities in structures and systems which influence all women’s lived experience, and their capacity to thrive as equals with men.”

We need male allyship to help us eradicate not just violence, abuse and sexism, but also to redress the balance in gendered pay, distribution of care and representation in political, business, public and all facets of social influence. This must be the project we must maintain momentum on.”