We Need More Refuge Spaces to Comply With Council of Europe Standards

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has called for refuge accommodation commitments outlined in the Third National Strategy on Domestic Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (DSGBV) to be revised, saying this should be done with a view to expanding capacity in order to comply with Council of Europe standards on ensuring protection of survivors and victims. The calls were contained in our Legislative Observations on the General Scheme of the Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Agency Bill, submitted to the Department of Justice. DSGBV is the leading cause of homelessness for women and children in Ireland. The Strategy currently pledges to provide 280 refuge spaces, which is considerably lower than the 675 spaces needed for Council of Europe guidelines compliance. Contemporary data indicates that the majority of refusals for women seeking refuge are due to capacity issues. Our Submission noted that failure by the State to provide access to immediate protection will mean violation of its international commitments under the UN Convention on the Eliminations of all Forms of Violence against Women. The General Scheme of the Bill provided for the establishment of a new statutory agency to combat DSGBV. It sets out this Agency’s responsibilities as including the implementation of the Third National Strategy, the monitoring of the planned increase in the number of refuge spaces available for victims and survivors, and to assist in the long term development of permanent structures to deliver further refuge accommodation. In our Submission, we called for a victim and survivor centred agency that will safeguard the equality and human rights of those that it will be providing services to, and ensure that that provision takes in to account their specific needs. This includes structurally vulnerable groups including women, girls, older women, minority ethnic women, migrant women, Traveller and Roma Women, disabled Women, LGBT+ women, victims of trafficking, women with addiction issues and women in (and exiting) prostitution. As Ireland’s independent National Rapporteur on the Trafficking of Human Beings, we repeated our call for the establishment of specialised accommodation facilities for victims and survivors of trafficking and given the gendered nature of trafficking, that that accommodation should be gender-sensitive, appropriate and safe. Trafficking for sexual exploitation is a recognised form of gender-based violence in the new Third National Strategy on DSGBV. As such, the DSGBV Agency must support and include victim and survivors of sexual exploitation; whom are disproportionately migrant women. The absence of gender-specific shelters in Ireland leads to further risk of harm, re-trafficking and further victimisation. The provision of safe and appropriate housing is internationally accepted as central to a victim’s recovery both as an independent individual and to support them in any criminal investigation or prosecution. Use of Direct Provision accommodation for victims and survivors of trafficking has been roundly condemned by GRETA, civil society, OSCE Reports and the US State Department. Our Submission also highlighted the importance of the systemic and adequate collection of disaggregated data, not only to document the prevalence of DSGBV, but to inform the legal and policy framework surrounding the issue. Although the General Scheme does provide for the Agency to undertake research projects and evaluation, these appear limited to statistical information related to the planning of services. We recommend that the remit goes beyond this, and that the Agency should be responsible for developing and overseeing a comprehensive statistical database with robust data in line with the State’s obligations under Article 11 of the Istanbul Convention. Chief Commissioner Sinéad Gibney, said

“The establishment of a new central statutory Agency is an essential step in moving towards zero tolerance on DSGBV. It is essential that the lessons are learned from past attempts and that this Agency has the independence, funding and adequate expertise and experience needed to effect real change. At the core of its function must be an approach that is centred on the needs of victims and survivors, including structurally vulnerable groups. This includes the provision of appropriate, safe and accessible refuge accommodation and support services in line with our international commitments.”

END/ For further information, please contact: Sarah Clarkin, IHREC Communications Manager, 01 8592641 / 087 4687760 sarah.clarkin@ihrec.ie Follow us on twitter @_IHREC

Notes for Editors:

Our Submission is available at: Submission on the General Scheme of the Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Agency Bill Key recommendations from our Submission include: On Engagement: That the Agency must be able to have meaningful engagement with relevant stakeholders, including civil society, public and voluntary sector involved in service delivery, children and young persons, and victims and survivors. On Governance: That membership of the Agency’s board should include individuals who have the relevant experience, expertise and understanding of DSGBV, including victims and survivors and there should be an annual self-assessment of the board. The designation of a person to the role of CEO should happen through a fair and transparent competition. We also recommended the inclusion of a requirement for a self-assessment annual evaluation of the Board’s performance, including consideration of the balance of skills, experience, independence and knowledge on the Board, and its diversity On Staffing: That the draft legislation is amended to allow external candidates to be eligible to become members of the staff of the Agency and that an additional subsection should be added providing that staff appointed to the Agency will possess such relevant experience, qualifications or expertise as is appropriate having regard to the particular functions of the Agency. These recommendations are necessary to ensure that the Agency has independence over staffing and is not restricted in employing potential candidates with the required expertise and experience from other Government Departments, public bodies, civil society organisations, front line service providers, voluntary service providers, victim-survivors, and those from other relevant sectors. On Policy: That to ensure a coherent approach to DSGBV policy and service provision, the Agency should have the capacity to generate policy separate from the Minister. On Public Sector Duty: As a public body, the Agency will be legally required to comply with its statutory obligations under the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty, however the General Scheme makes no reference to Section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014. We have made several recommendations regarding the new Agency’s requirements under the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty including the necessity of a corporate plan that sets out an assessment of the human rights and equality issues the Agency believes to be relevant to the functions and purpose of the Agency and the policies, plans and actions in place or proposed to be put in place to address those issues. On Funding: In order to assist with strategic planning and the streamlining of DSGBV service provision by public bodies, sustained, multi-annual, equality budget-proofed and ring-fenced funding is required to facilitate the implementation of the Zero Tolerance Strategy. In this Submission, we recommend that the draft legislation be amended to provide that funding will be provided on a multi-annual basis to ensure the effective provision of services from service providers. 

Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is an independent public body, appointed by the President and directly accountable to the Oireachtas. The Commission has a statutory remit set out under the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act (2014) to protect and promote human rights and equality in Ireland, and build a culture of respect for human rights, equality and intercultural understanding in the State. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is Ireland’s national human rights institution and is recognised as such by the United Nations. The Commission is also Ireland’s national equality body for the purpose of a range of EU anti-discrimination measures.