Fiona McCarthy Workers Party Representative comments on a report saying 1-5 of girls aged 16-19 have experienced domestic abuse in their relationships
Ms McCarthy said the report indicates that not enough is being done to tackle misogyny among young boys and toxic online influences, while the report relates to England and Wales, sadly the position in Northern Ireland would be similar, if not worse. Louisa Rolfe the National Police Chief’s Council lead for domestic abuse provided the information as a witness at an evidence session in the House of Lords. Saying that last year the office for National Statistics found that 16-19 and 20-24 represented a larger share of those experiencing domestic abuse than any other age group.
Rolfe told peers the definition of abuse “does not currently capture the under-16s” experiencing abuse in their relationships, despite being the “fastest growing group of of domestic abuse victims” Ms McCarthy said we are possibly dealing with another generation of women being subjected to abuse and violence in their relationships.
She said the fact that cases of abuse are growing faster among teenagers than any other category should be ringing alarm bells that not enough is being done to challenge misogyny at all levels of society. When we have the rich and powerful men across the world treating women as possessions and subjecting them to abuse sexual and physical and denigrating them. It is an imperative that society as a whole tackles the situation.
Women and girls need to be valued in society, that means equality of treatment, in the home, in the workplace, in political life, and in leadership roles in boardrooms and salary structures. Ms McCarthy added we cannot allow future generations of women and girls to be abused, women and girls are entitled to live free from violence and abuse, and to walk our streets free from the fear of physical or sexual assault.
The Workers Party believes that young boys must be educated in the home, in school, and in other spheres of society, to understand that misogyny is a serious problem and is also a crime. Bringing in a Femicide Law would be a sharp reminder to all those who feel it is their right to abuse women and girls. Women’s Rights are Human Rights.