An investigation is underway after it was reported a group of males shouted rape threats at a woman who was getting off the DART.
Irish Rail has said it has CCTV footage of the incident which happened on Wednesday night.
Speaking to Newstalk, Barry Kenny, a spokesperson for Irish Rail said the company are confident the group will be identified.
“An investigation is underway obviously to assist the gardaí in identifying those that were involved,” Mr Kenny said.
“Nobody onboard should have to hear that, particularly our women that are travelling with us should not have to hear disgusting, disgraceful language like that.”
Chants
As reported in The Irish Times, Fine Gael TD Alan Farrell was onboard the DART at the time of the incident.
In a statement on Twitter, Mr Farrell described the behaviour of the men as “depressing”.
“Chants of ‘let’s rape her’ were heard amongst lads, after lone women exited the train, before our final destination,” Mr Farrell said.
I don’t think I’ve ever felt compelled to tweet about such things, but from my journey home tonight on the DART, we have a very long way to go to ensure toxic masculinity is eradicated from our society. Chants of “let’s rape her” were heard amongst lads, after lone women
— Alan Farrell TD (@AlanFarrell) October 7, 2021
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Mary Crilly, director of the Cork Sexual Violence Centre, has said this type of behaviour has been happening on public transport for years.
“With a situation like that you need more visibility and more monitoring of what is happening,” she said.
“People are afraid to speak out. People [who witness it] are afraid to get involved in case they are beaten up. Which I totally understand.”
Ms Crilly urged public transport users who see lone women being abused in this manner to go and sit next to them.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800 77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/, or visit Rape Crisis Help.
In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.
