Natasha O'Brien was among protestors calling for changes to the Irish justice system in Cork city yesterday evening.
Natasha, who has become the face of the uprising against the legal system to deal with gender-based violence, addressed protesters from Socialist Feminist Movement, ROSA, at the steps of the courthouse on Washington Street on Thursday evening.
The 24-year-old hit national headlines when the case against her attacker, serving soldier Cathal Crotty, was before the courts last week. Limerick Circuit Court Judge, Tom O’Donnell, handed down a fully suspended three-year sentence on the 22-year-old Defence Forces soldier, who beat Natasha unconscious in a vicious assault in Limerick city.
Scores of demonstrators marched through the streets of the city after 6 pm last night, chanting for change. Among the chants included: ""We won't move, we won't budge, we don't want your sexist judge!".
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The demonstration was calling for radical overhaul of the gender-based violence courts system, and increased funding for charities and groups for abuse victims. Since her attacker walked free, Natasha has been joined by ROSA protestors across the country at demonstrations criticising how the case was handled, the leniency of the sentence and the trauma faced by Natasha, and other women, who watched their attackers walk free.
A similar protest was held in the city on Saturday, where hundreds came out to show their support for Natasha in the call to suspend Cathal Crotty from the Defence Forces. On Tuesday, she received a standing ovation in the Dáil as TDs criticised the suspended sentence handed down by Judge O'Donnell.
Judge O’Donnell retired this week after 47 years as a solicitor and judge. The judge had told the court that, on giving Crotty a suspended sentence, it was 'significant' that Crotty had pleaded guilty.
