Call for council for decisions on gender-based violence

More than 40 organisations have called for the creation of a survivor-led advisory council to influence government decisions on gender-based violence in Ireland. This recommendation follows a study commissioned by the Irish Observatory on Violence Against Women, which examined how survivors are engaged across public bodies. The report highlights inconsistent government efforts in survivor engagement and advocates for a sustained, meaningful role for survivors in shaping policies, rather than relying on episodic testimony. The study involved consultations with survivors, specialist services, policymakers, and civil servants working within the government’s Zero Tolerance strategy. While frontline services often involve survivors in advocacy, the report found that engagement across government departments lacks coherence and depth. It recommends establishing a survivor-led advisory council that reflects diverse lived experiences, including those of Traveller, Roma, LGBTQ+, and migrant women, as well as family members of women killed by violence. The council should be properly funded through multi-annual commitments, rather than diverting resources from existing support services. Civil servants suggested that the Department of Justice and Cuan, the agency responsible for implementing the Zero Tolerance strategy, should lead the new framework. However, survivors and advocacy groups emphasized the need for a whole-of-government approach, embedding survivor engagement across housing, justice, healthcare, education, and public services. The report warns against tokenistic consultation and stresses that survivor input must be intersectional by design, respecting survivors as experts without forcing them to repeatedly recount trauma. Mary-Louise Lynch, founder of Survivors Informing Services and Institutions (SiSi), underscored the importance of a flexible and inclusive engagement framework that accommodates the varied experiences of survivors. The research also drew on international examples, such as Australia’s Victorian Victim Survivors Advisory Council, which has advised on family and sexual violence policy since 2016, demonstrating the potential benefits of survivor-led input in systemic reform.