MARY T. CLEARY,
Madam, - A report in The Irish Times (November 26th) states that a spokesman for the Minister for Justice said that he plans to publish legislation that "would address last month's Supreme Court ruling on interim barring orders as well as concerns raised by Women's Aid". On October 15th Amen wrote to the Minister for Justice to made a number of points:
a) That it would be unwise to be forced into any knee-jerk reaction by hysteria created by certain powerful and vociferous groups. Subservience to such groups caused this defective piece of legislation to be put on the statute books in the first place.
b) There are other serious flaws in the Act which must also be addressed. Among the more serious flaws are the absence of any definition of what constitutes abuse/violence, no statutory guidance as to when it is appropriate to grant a barring order or a safety order, and a total absence of guidance as to the standards of proof necessary to establish abuse. Despite the widespread misconception to the contrary the majority of barring orders are granted on the basis of the applicant's uncorroborated allegations.
In the summer of 1999 both the Law Society and Amen made submissions to the then Minister for Justice pointing out these and other flaws in this legislation. Both submissions were obviously filed away for posterity and it appears that the present Minister also intends to ignore them.
We also pointed out to the Minister that one of the reasons this piece of legislation, and other family legislation, is so unbalanced and defective is that it is shaped and influenced in a totally undemocratic manner. Men and men's organisations have to date been totally denied the opportunity to articulate men's experiences and interests in the formulation of legislation and policy.
Family Law is essentially about reconciling the competing interests of men and women. If the system is to be based on the values of democracy, equality and justice then organisations representing men and women should be treated equally and accorded "parity of esteem". Accordingly, if the legislation is to be reviewed, it is imperative that Amen and other men's groups are allowed to participate and contribute on an equal basis to women and women's groups.
In the letter we expressed the hope that the Minister would understand this basic principle of democracy a bit better than some of his predecessors. To date we have not even received a reply from the Minister. It would appear that he intends addressing the concerns of women's groups only and ignoring organisations articulating men's views and experiences. If he persists in introducing legislative amendments, based on such undemocratic consultation processes, there will still be serious question marks hanging over this legislation. - Yours, etc.,
MARY T. CLEARY,
National Co-ordinator,
Amen,
9/10 Academy Street,
Navan,
Co. Meath.