14 minute read
New NUI Galway study reveals increase in online threats of physical and sexual violence against female politicians
By Caoimhe Killeen
A new ongoing study carried out by a team from the Discipline of Journalism and Communications at NUI Galway has revealed online abuse of female politicians is increasing in the form of threats of both physical and sexual violence against them and their families.
Advertisement
The findings were presented earlier this month at a webinar called ‘Cyber Harassment: Women in Politics and Online Abuse’ organised by the European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality and the National Women’s Council of Ireland.
The study was conducted through a series of interviews that took place between November 2019 and March 2020.
So far, 69 female politicians have been interviewed for the study, with current and former female members of the Oireachtas taking part. Female councillors from all major Irish political parties were also interviewed, and further interviews to contribute further to the study have also been planned.
According to the study, 96% of those interviewed had received ‘hate mail’ through email or social media, with these messages containing threaten-
By Sarah Slevin
NUI Galway lecturer Fionnuala Corbett was successful at the recent IMRO Radio Awards, taking home silver in the News Broadcaster of the Year category in the event in early October. ing language. Three quarters of those interviewed stated they had been threatened with physical violence via social media, while two in five reported threats of sexual violence. A quarter of women also reported experiences of public verbal abuse.
“Hate speech and discrimination disproportionately affect women, people of colour, LGBTI individuals, and people with disabilities,” Midlands-North-West MEP Maria Walsh told SIN. “In a digital world, hate speech is no longer confined to our towns and borders. It crosses borders and cannot be contained within national laws… We need to project those at risk from harassment from people who often feel like they can act with impunity.”
Walsh also added that she was working at the European level to bring in tougher laws for hate speech both online and offline to ensure a unified approach in all EU countries. In fact, only a minority of those interviewed for the study said they had reported the abuse to Gardaí or to social media companies. They stated that they found it hard for social media companies and Gardaí to take their threats seriously, as there was the perception that these politicians had warranted this abuse and were “fair game.”
The national IMRO Radio awards took place via Livestream, replacing the usual celebrations of a Gala Dinner in the Lyrath Estate in Kilkenny.
SIN spoke to Fionnuala Corbett, Head of News at iRadio and Journalism lecturer at NUI Galway, to get her reaction on winning Silver for News Broadcaster of the year. She also gives an insight into the journey that got her to this moment, which she confirmed was a highlight of her career so far.
Speaking with modesty, Fionnuala said she was ecstatic with the recognition, and that on the run up to the awards ceremony, she tried not to get ahead of herself, although some belief had slipped through.
“Last Friday, the nerves were building, I’m not going to lie. I did allow myself to think of how nice it would be to be recognised in some way.”
Complimentary of both the event organisers and the other nominees, Fionnuala gave a shout out to everyone who was nominated and also commended IMRO and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) for such a well-run and, mostly, technical glitch free event.
Not getting to go to the Gala was a shame for the IRadio presenter, but Fionnuala and those watching with her did not let that dampen their spirits:
“It was definitely strange. Normally you would get to head to Kilkenny, and you’d be getting very dressed up. You would be getting the hair and make-up done and you’d have a real night of it
Other participants also admitted to receiving threatening and abusive phone calls both on their mobile and home phone. Because of the abuse received on social media, they were also worried for their family’s safety online, were not comfortable in attending large public meetings alone and even considered quitting their political careers solely due to the abuse.
Sinn Féin Galway-West TD Mairead Farrell claimed that the treatment of women in politics puts them off running for public office, telling SIN: “I think the way that women are treated in the media and on social media can definitely make them think twice about whether they’d run in an election.”
“I was recently contacted by a reporter who wanted to interview me about my ‘Dáil wardrobe.’ I found it a bit bizarre because my fashion choices are not something that I spend too long thinking about, and I doubt a male TD would have been asked a similar question. I declined the interview.”
Farrell added that while there was an increase in the number of female politicians who were elected in this year’s General Election, women make up less than a quarter of the current Dáil, which is still a very low number, and that a quota of numbers in the Lyrath Estate, but obviously we were all confined to our sitting rooms pretty much. I think everyone made the most of it.”
Fionnuala began her radio career early, getting her start in iRadio during her school years. A brief work placement gave her a taste for radio and from there, she went on to study Journalism and New Media in the University of Limerick.
Fiona McGarry, one of Fionnuala’s lectuers in Limerick had nothing but praise for Fionnuala, saying, “Right from her student days she showed great potential. It is fantastic now to see that this has been recognised by IMRO. It’s also great to see women in broadcasting being acknowledged. Fionnuala is a really great role model for young women going into the radio industry today.”
Going for any-and-every opportunity is key in Fionnuala’s mind if you want to pursue a career in the industry. Through her studies, she took on a sixmonth placement with iRadio and got to experience it all, from news to the promo team and she also got an insight into radio production. Fionnuala then travelled to Scotland where she did a short placement with Central FM.
Soon after that, she was offered a weekend news role with iRadio – all while still working on the final year of her degree. After a brief stint with Morning Ireland, Fionnuala took on a full-time news role with iRadio where she began as a contributor with Fergal D’Arcy. She has been with the station ever since. elected was necessary to ensure politics was more reflective of society.
Tom Felle, Head of Journalism and Communications at NUI Galway, and part of the team that conducted the study stated that some of these results were truly shocking.
“Social media has become a den of misogyny, a cesspit of trolls, where many female public representatives are abused and bullied regularly. Threats of physical violence are criminal acts and abuse of this nature are abhorrent.”, he said.
“At a time when society needs to see more women entering politics, there is a real danger that this behaviour will have a chilling effect and discourage women from running for public office. The findings are particularly telling in local government.”
Farrell noted that this year’s General Election marked the first time three women had ever been elected at the same time in her constituency of Galway West, as well as the first time women would be the majority representatives in the constituency.
“The impact of social media trolls and occasional sexist journalism does not help. I believe that social media platforms need to do more to tackle the online trolls, hate speech and make users feel
NUI Galway lecturer Fionnuala Corbett wins Silver for News Broadcaster of the Year at the IMRO awards
safer,” she concluded.
Currently, Fionnuala is working with Dave Duke on their daily show ‘The Lift’ and is appreciative of the joy it brings both themselves and their listeners. “You get to have a lot of fun as well,” she says. “With the Lift, we do try and make people laugh, and we have a lot of fun day to day.”
Fionnuala could not help but give her colleague Dave Duke some well-earned praise for their show Éirevision, which also won a Bronze Specialist Music Show award at the IMROs, saying, “He is an absolutely fantastic colleague, he just couldn’t be better to work with.”
David for his part says the feeling is mutual, stating that, “Fionnuala is an absolute powerhouse of a broadcaster and I genuinely mean that. I can guarantee you that there is not another broadcaster in the country that works harder than Fionnuala Corbett.”
The secret to her success, Fionnuala maintains, is that it is all about dedication, commitment and having fun with it. Putting in the work and doing your research pays off and gives you a better opportunity to really enjoy your time on air. It seems that Fionnuala is exactly where she is supposed to be and is loving every moment she spends collaborating with her colleagues and speaking to her listeners.
“There is a real buzz that comes with getting to go on air and it’s a real privilege to get to go live every day and I do really appreciate that,” she finished.
Students express concerns over handling of SUSI grants
By Conor Brummell
When colleges closed last March, many students were forced to move back to their hometowns to complete the academic year online. With most of these students staying in their locality from March until September, many of their part-time jobs allocated them more hours to help deal with the surge in demand from the coronavirus pandemic.
On top of this, some students who were working in restaurants or bars during the weekends were made unemployed and were able to avail of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment of €350 a week, and the decreased rate of €203 euro from June onwards.
This resulting increase of earnings for students during lockdown has seen a rise in concerns about the allocation of SUSI grants this year. The first payment was due to be made on Friday October 9th , and many students took to social media to express frustrations that they weren’t awarded their correct entitlements. For some, their maintenance grant was cut entirely, despite being approved months prior.
One student from NUI Galway spoke to SIN about her situation, stating that SUSI told her she had worked too much last year and was no longer entitled to a maintenance grant.
“I apparently worked too much which brought up the overall household income. The savings my mam has now are limited due to my brother needing to go to Poland to do Veterinary Medicine, because his points were downgraded by the Leaving Cert system this year.”
“All I currently have is €17 in my bank account and €60 in my credit union. I may have earned a lot last year through my part time work but that went towards living expenses and I’ve since been left with next to nothing,” she continued.
“SUSI won’t award me my maintenance grant as a result, and my brother is only entitled to 75% of his, leaving him with €37 a week once his rent is paid.”
The student in question moved back to Galway on the pretence that there was going to be on-campus lectures this semester, which changed due to the ongoing public health restrictions and NUI Galway moving teaching online until after Christmas.
“My dad is helping me pay my rent, but I still have to contribute €250 to it a month. I’m thinking of trying to get out of my lease, seeing as we have no lectures on campus, but then I’m also going to lose out on my deposit of €400 which I paid for with my own money.”
She states that she availed of the PUP during lockdown because her workplace, a bar in Galway, closed due to restrictions.
“To be quite honest I’m really stressed, and I have been feeling very drained and exhausted because the every day the situation has changed and it’s quite hard to keep up with, and now I have this financial stress and worry on top of everything too.”
“SUSI normally awarded my sister something like €350 the whole time she was at University, but I only ever received something like €85 a month which isn’t much in the first place,” she caid.
“We’ve heard nothing from SUSI yet, but mum has had to fight with them over appeals every year. It feels as if things are purposely miscalculated, so you lose out on it and they only give in if you keep fighting for what you’re entitled to.”
Another student from Galway said that matters are uncertain for her too. “I might not get it at all depending on what they’re saying. A lot of people are being thrown this out of the blue, and I’m lucky that I’m in a situation where it’ll be okay but for so many people who’ve moved to other counties, they’re at a loss.”
“A few of my friends have gotten letters in the last week that have asked for all their income details yet again and without this information, SUSI are withholding money that was originally granted months ago. It was due out on the ninth (of October) and I only know of one person who got it on time.”
This student’s parents are self-employed, so usually the grant fluctuates, but both parents have found themselves out of jobs because of the pandemic.
“I received SUSI in first and third year and was supposed to get it this year too. They have paid for my fees in the past and I get €135 euro maintenance. I’m totally financially independent from my parents other than college, but it’s their wages they look at.”
“Unless my parents get an accountant to look over everything in the next few days, they’ll have to pay for college this year too,” she finished.
A spokesperson from SUSI responded to a request for comment from SIN, stating that they do not hold on record the number of grants not renewed year upon year.
However, they did say that to date in the academic year 2020/21, SUSI received over 97,000
applications with over 73,000 awarded funding. Of the 73,000, over 38,000 are renewal students. These figures are subject to change as SUSI is still processing applications.
The spokesperson also stated that, “Over 40,000 higher education students, including over 3,000 from NUI Galway, received their first payment on Friday. To ensure students receive their first payment as soon as possible, SUSI is making weekly payments from 9th October.
“Students receive the payment as detailed in their grant award or grant renewal letter. For exam-
ple, if an undergraduate student has been awarded the 100% adjacent rate of maintenance, the student will receive €1,215 in nine instalments of €135.”
NUI Galway’s Students’ Union Welfare Officer, Róisín Nic Lochlainn told SIN that she has had some students contact her about the SUSI grant and late payments.
“There may be a delay in the process or a problem with their applications. SUSI has also informed some students that the payment is now being made on the 19th October. If their SUSI grant was approved, they should be entitled to the amount approved.”
However, if a student is facing financial difficulty, the University’s Financial Aid Fund is now open, and students are encouraged to apply for help if they need it.
“Students can contact myself or the Chaplaincy for immediate financial support. What I can do in situations like these is call the private SUSI numbers that the SU are given for circumstances exactly like this- but in order for me to be able to discuss individual cases and see what has went wrong, the students need to reach out to me first and give me written permission to act as a third party in their application before I can discuss their case.”
“It’s such an awful position to be in - the whole SUSI process needs desperate reform and I’ll be bringing it up with Galway west TDs when I meet with them next week,” Nic Lochlainn commented.
