Pavee Point were pleased to attend the Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (DSGBV) Sector Forum on Tuesday afternoon, hosted by the Department of Justice.
At the Forum, we received updates on policy and legislative developments from Minister Jim O’Callaghan. We also heard how DSGBV is being incorporated into the National Strategy on Women and Girls (2025–2030), presented by Kevin McCarthy, Secretary General of the Department of Children, Disability and Equality. We welcome this work and look forward to the forthcoming Action Plan to support the wellbeing of all women and girls, including Traveller and Roma women and communities.
Dr Stephanie O’Keefe, CEO of Cuan, presented the Zero Tolerance 2025 Progress Report on the Third National Strategy on DSGBV (2022–2026), highlighting ongoing progress across prevention, protection, prosecution and policy coordination. Corinne Hasson, Executive Director of the National Women’s Council, also outlined recommendations for strengthening survivor engagement.
At the Forum, Pavee Point highlighted the importance of collecting ethnicity data, in line with the National Equality Data Strategy (2026–2031). This is especially important for DSGBV, as without this data we cannot fully understand the barriers Traveller and Roma women and communities, and other minority ethnic groups, face in accessing services.
#ViolenceAgainstWomenAndGirls #DomesticSexualAndGenderBasedViolence
Link: Speech by Minister O’Callaghan at DSGBV Forum
Mary Collins, Pavee Point Primary Health Care Worker & Brogan Gallagher, Pavee Point Violence against Women (VAW) Programme Coordinator