Emma Murphy calls for a change on victim blaming

She wants to change the questions being asked.

Emma Murphy appeared on The Late Late Show last night to chat to Ryan about her story which went viral a few years ago. Emma, a Dublin mum, was the subject of a viral video after she posted one to Facebook following an assault from her then-partner. She posted the video to finally 'escape' from her situation, she told Ryan. She recalled the incident which prompted her to post the video. She explained that she was suspicious that her partner was cheating so she confronted him and he ended up punching her in the face. She said:

"Straight away I was in agony. It was a punch to the face. My eye was obviously very swollen. I jumped in the car and I drove frantically. It happened so quick, I was afraid, I just jumped into the car. The first reaction I had was just: get away, get away. I was afraid, the look in his eye, I was terrified."

It took two and a half years for her ex-partner to be found guilty of assaulting her, and she believes the justice system in Ireland for domestic assault victims is a 'disgrace'. That sentence was finally declared in October and she said if it wasn't for the Detective and the Gardaí helping her with the case she wouldn't have got through it. She was grateful for the guilty verdict, she added, because it meant the system had acknowledged that violence against women is wrong. She also called for an end to victim blaming in Ireland. She thinks that the conversation needs to change among Irish people, starting with younger people and generations to come. The focus needs to be on the abuser and not the victim.

“Victim blaming in Ireland is really, really bad. Constantly we are blaming victims: why didn’t she leave? Why did she accept that? Why didn’t she walk away the first time? Why don’t we change that around and start asking the question: why did he hit her? Why did he do this? Because that’s a choice.