Women4Yes: NWCI are calling for a yes vote in the forthcoming Referendum on Civil Marriage Equality
Published: Tuesday, May 19, 2015
What the Referendum on Civil Marriage Equality is about
This referendum is about equality in Civil Marriage. It proposes to add to the Constitution a declaration that;
"Marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex".
Currently the Constitution recognises a man and a woman who are married, regardless of whether they have children or not, as ‘a family’. It does not recognise a same sex couple who are in a civil partnership as ‘a family’. This means they are excluded from the special protection and care that the Constitution designates for families.
In addition to the practical implications of that lack of recognition it also sends a strong social and cultural message in terms of our values as a State. The Constitution is designed to be a living document in the shared ownership of the people of Ireland and to reflect their values and lived reality. As we approach the anniversary of 1916, this referendum is also an opportunity to bring our Constitution one step closer the Proclamation’s principles of cherishing all equally.
Why NWCI are supporting a YES Vote
Our Mandate and Values
Equal rights and diversity are important values for NWCI and are reflected across our work and our membership. NWCI’s support for this referendum draws on our overarching mandate to ensure that our member’s voices are heard “wherever decisions are made that affect the lives of women in all their diversity”. We have also been mandated by a number of Motions proposed and passed by our members since 2006.
In our current Strategic Plan NWCI reaffirm our belief in ‘the right of women to live in a society based on the principle of equality for all, irrespective of needs and diversity’. Supporting this referendum is consistent with our commitment to work for such a society.
Our History
Women and the Feminist movement have always been at the forefront of positive social change in Ireland. We pressed for access to contraception to the right to divorce and remarry, to ending the status of illegitimacy – overcoming great opposition from deeply entrenched conservative forces. Society not only survived but has been strengthened by these changes. NWCI believe it is right that we are also the forefront in this new and positive campaign.
Why This Referendum Matters
Equality and Marriage
Equality within marriage in Ireland is something the women’s movement has been moving forward over many years. As lately as the 1970’s, being married in Ireland used to mean that a woman would be required to leave her job. Ownership of property and protection against violence within marriage are other areas that have seen hard won changes. While statistics show that the majority of care and household work is still done by women, this too is an area which is slowly starting to evolve. All these developments have improved marriage and made it better. This Referendum is consistent with promoting equality within and between marriages.
Civil Partnership is not enough
Ireland used to have a two tier system for recognition of children with some children marked as 'illegitimate’ with an associated reduction in rights and supports. This is something that the women’s movement, including Mary Robinson, fought to change. We are now in danger of a two tier system for relationships where some have the full range of options, including marriage, open to them and others have their limits set at 'civil partnerships'.
For too many years, girls in Ireland grew up knowing that they had to face additional obstacles around their options in life simply because of their gender. We don't want girls who are LBTQ to now grow up with limitations placed on them simply because of their sexuality - knowing that marriage is not an option for them.
Failure to recognise diversity has a cost
Recognising and respecting reality of diverse families something Ireland has failed at in the past with great human cost. The idea that all households should consist of an opposite-sex married couple was reflected in the suffering of women incarcerated within mother and baby homes and indeed in the experience of many men whose children were taken from them after a wife’s death. Even today ‘social norms’ are still too often invoked by those who wish to justify discrimination or bullying.
The fact is that Ireland has thousands of single parent households, it also has widows and widowers and it has many families who have separated or divorced and remarried. The Child and Family Relationship Act recognises that reality and places the child at its centre, recognising a child’s right to relationship with both parents regardless of their marital status or whether they live together along with that child’s right to a wider range of relationships including step parents and grandparents.
The outcome of the Referendum will in no way affect this Act or the associated rights of children. It will however send an important symbolic message to the many children of LGBT parents who are already in our schools and communities and to young people including those who are themselves LGBT.
There is a recognised social cost to rejection and exclusion - manifesting not only in health problems, particularly for young people, but also in areas such as emigration. However there are also huge mental health and well-being benefits to being accepted and respected, offering real dividends for society as a whole.
What this Referendum is NOT about
Adoption, assisted reproduction or surrogacy
This referendum is about Civil Marriage as an issue in its own right. The right to marry and be official recognized as ‘a family’ by the Constitution in no way depends on or demands the presence of children in that ‘family’. Many married couples in Ireland never have children.
The outcome of this Referendum will have no impact on issues of adoption, assisted reproduction or surrogacy. The recognition of marriage and the associated recognition as ‘a family’ do not confer or imply any additional rights in terms of access to adoption, assisted reproduction or surrogacy. Our legislation in Ireland does not differentiate between those who are married or unmarried and instead places the rights of the child at its centre, as required by the Children’s Rights Referendum.
Most recently the Child and Family Relationship Act set out a range of legislation on adoption and assisted reproduction. This legislation supports a child’s right to identity, moving Ireland further away from the terrible days of anonymised and forced adoption in religious institutions.
The State’s power to regulate or restrict surrogacy is also in no way affected by the outcome of this Referendum and will again be bound by the rights of the child. It is worth noting that a number of countries including Spain and Portugal already have both same sex marriage and a ban on surrogacy.
Limiting religious diversity
This Referendum is about Civil Marriage not Religious Marriage. This Referendum deals exclusively with the legal Civil Recognition of marriage within our Republic.
While there is an evolving debate within many faith groups this is entirely separate matter and religious ceremonies such as church weddings will not be affected by the outcome of this referendum.