THE Clare Women’s Network, together with Safe Ireland, will are hosting an important one-day conference on domestic violence in Ennis on Friday (December 14). The event, ‘Understand and Responding to Coercive Control’ showcases leading experts in the field of domestic violence and law.
Keynote speakers include expert on coercive control, Professor Evan Stark. Professor Stark in his award winning research illustrates the terrifying techniques men use to control their partners, strategies that Stark argues are more effective in trapping women in relationships than physical violence.
Other speakers include Davina James-Hanman an independent Violence Against Women Consultant. Davina has worked in the field of violence against women for over three decades in a variety of capacities. The final presenter will be Caroline Counihan BL. Caroline has worked with Safe Ireland since 2014. Her role at Safe Ireland includes policy work and advocacy to help improve the legal system for all domestic violence survivors, including her extensive work on the Domestic Violence Act 2018 as it made its way through the Oireachtas.
In 2019 Coercive Control will be enacted into law in Ireland. Professor Stark will present to ensure professionals working with women have a better understanding of what that means.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.