The National Women’s Council (NCW) has come in for a stinging rebuke over its silence on the case of coercive control and forced abortion recently adjudicated in Donegal.
A young woman was abused by her partner and forced to abort her unborn baby against her will in a case that has attracted widespread attention across Ireland.
Aontú Cllr Emer Tóibín says
“The unfortunate woman and her unborn child at the centre of this case have not elicited one jot of concern from the NWC which has carefully curated an image of being ‘human rights warriors’.
“However ,despite its frequent and vocal opposition to gender-based violence, the National Women’s Council has abjectly failed to condemn this appalling, proven case. Its deafening silence is a clear example of selective advocacy—speaking out only when it suits its agenda.”
“The double standards are astonishing. In the wake of a case where a woman was forced by her partner to end the life of her unborn baby against her will—a clear and grave form of gender-based violence—the National Women’s Council has remained silent. This is not just wholly unjust and unacceptable, it is a betrayal of the very women they profess to represent,” said Cllr Tóibín.
It is usually so incredibly vocal on any hint of gender-based violence yet it seems to have lost its voice completely around this most appalling and proven case of gender based violence .
So , is the National woman’s council only opposed to gender-based violence when it suits it? .
The silence from an organisation that claims to protect and advocate for women’s rights is deeply disturbing and hypocritical.
I have long spoken out about my unease about the National Women’s Council.
Far from being the ‘inclusive’ advocacy group it professes to be, it is deeply ‘exclusionary’.
It has no interest whatsoever in offering support or a platform to women who do not share its views.
Look at the facts here; It is strident about allowing transgender men have access to women’s safe and intimate spaces, it campaigned for the removal of the word ‘Woman’ from our Constitution, and it finds it immensely difficult to even determine what a woman actually is.
Remember this is an organisation that gets the bulk of its funding from the Government ,
It is a powerful lobby group with absolutely no public mandate
Arguably it would not exist were it not for the ‘largesse of the taxpayer ‘
Cllr Tóibín called on the incoming CEO of the National Women’s Council ,Corrinne Hasson,to immediately and unequivocally condemn the crime in Donegal .
“The Council’s inaction sends a dangerous message—that some forms of violence against women are less worthy of outrage than others. This cannot be tolerated in any society that professes to value the safety and dignity of women.”
She further emphasised the broader implications of the case, pointing to systemic failures in protecting women from coercion, especially in the context of telemedicine abortion services. “This case raises urgent questions about how our systems identify and prevent coercion. When consultations are remote, it is harder to ensure a woman is not under duress. Our healthcare system must put the safety and wellbeing of women first.”
Cllr Tóibín says
“The Minister for Health and the HSE must commission an immediate, independent review of telemedicine abortion provision, with a specific focus on safeguarding women against coercion and abuse. “No woman should ever be forced into abortion through fear, pressure or control. We must ensure our policies and advocacy groups are truly serving the interests of all women, especially the most vulnerable.”
A National Woman’s Council that only speaks out when issues chime with its very selective, narrow agenda is not worthy of its name”
