Tom Clonan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

This issue came up for me by accident in a discussion at home. There was an horrific incident a couple of years ago where a young woman was handcuffed by a police officer in London and was then raped and murdered. We happened to be talking about that case at home and my daughter said: "By the way, when you pass by in the car, don't beep the horn at me." I asked whether that is because I am her dad and therefore very embarrassing. She replied: "No, it is because when we are going to school or coming home from school, men beep the horn or try to have an interaction with us." She said that is why she wears headphones. She is not always listening to music but it means she does not have to look at people. This came as a complete newsflash to me. She told me she does not use the DART because if something happens in a carriage, it is not possible to stop the DART, so she uses the bus instead. My sons are not impacted in that way.

This points to the intersectionality of being black and Irish and being a young woman. We know from media reports that people have had awful experiences. I asked my daughter whether that type of thing happens where we live and she replied that it happens every day where we live. I then have to accept that people I know, including neighbours and friends, are the people beeping the horn and shouting things out the window. There seems to be a continuum of behaviours. Misogyny and gender-based violence seem to be persistent and really embedded in our culture. This issue intersects with race, LGBTQ status and all the other categories. I am hearing from the witnesses that this is an issue at second level.