Sinn Féin TDs, Senators, and political staff held a 15-minute ‘Walk Out for Women’ demonstration at Leinster House last week.
The walkout was to raise awareness about violence against women and to spotlight that ten women have been murdered in Ireland so far in 2026.
Dublin South Central TD Máire Devine TD, who serves as the party spokesperson on equality, domestic and gender-based violence, said that the trends of violence against women are “alarming.”
To date, 10 women have been murdered in Ireland in 2026.
According to Women’s Aid, 87% of women killed here since 1996 were murdered by a man known to them, and women of any age can be victims of femicide, but women under the age of 35 make up 50% of the cases in Ireland.
Femicide is generally defined as the killing of women and girls by men, and Devine said the practice is both a driver and a consequence of gender inequality and discrimination, which are recognised as underlying causes of violence against women.
Devine was speaking on the day that the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre released a new survey which found that nearly two in five men under the age of 25 think victims are partly responsible for being raped if they were taking drugs or drinking alcohol.
The survey found that 48% of men aged 18-24 believe there are ‘a lot’ of false rape allegations, compared with 19% of adults overall.
“Significant barriers continue to exist for victims of rape and sexual violence, and it appears that public attitudes require quite a bit of work to combat incorrect information,” Devine noted.
Further statistics show that 79% of survivors fear not being believed, which Devine said is the biggest worry for people seeking support.
19% of adults believe there are ‘a lot’ of false rape allegations made in Ireland, while only 56% say they would believe someone who told them they had been raped while drunk or taking drugs, with the figure 60% reported last year.
Only 38% of women surveyed believe that Ireland is a country where victims can speak openly about what happened to them.
Devine said, “clearly, we as a society must do more to educate people on the realities of gender-based violence and sexual violence, including informed consent.”
“The truth is that false rape claims are among the lowest of any crime. One of the myths of sexual violence is that it is usually committed by a stranger, but more often than not the perpetrator is someone known to the victim. Nearly one in three people in Ireland have been victims of sexual violence.
The Sinn Féin TD said, “we must engage men as allies in halting the horrific violence being committed. Not all men commit violent acts, but changing attitudes must come from conversations held among men too.