Martin Tansey Memorial Lecture 2025 - Strategy to tackle domestic, sexual and gender based violence in Ireland
ACJRD is grateful to Dr. Stephanie O'Keeffe, CEO of Cuan, who presented the 18th Annual Martin Tansey Memorial Lecture, “Strategy to tackle domestic, sexual and gender based violence in Ireland” in the Criminal Courts of Justice on Thursday, 1 May 2025.
Drawing on her experience of national strategy development and implementation, Dr. O’Keeffe discussed national strategies over the last 15 years to address Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Ireland, with a particular focus on Zero Tolerance, the current, third national strategy. This talk drew out the main domains of activity to prevent domestic and sexual violence, to protect victims and survivors and to ensure effective pathways to and through justice. Dr. O’Keeffe explored the complex issues at hand, the importance of partnership and critical success factors for implementation and impact.
Dr Stephanie O’Keeffe’s powerful lecture was a fitting tribute to the public service principles espoused by Martin Tansey and we wish to thank her for her reflections on the progress on strategies to tackle domestic, sexual and gender based violence in Ireland. We are delighted to say we will be publishing Dr O’Keeffe’s lecture on our website soon and it will also be published in the forthcoming Probation Journal.
Biography
Dr. Stephanie O’Keeffe was appointed as the first CEO of Cuan in February 2024.
Cuan is a new Statutory Agency, established under the Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Agency Act 2023. Cuan is an Agency under the aegis of the Department of Justice.
Dr O’Keeffe previously worked in the Health Service Executive (HSE) as the National Director of Health and Wellbeing and more recently National Director of Operations Planning. She has over 20 years’ experience of working in the Irish public service, across a number of organisations and, was responsible for delivering Ireland’s first ‘whole-of-government’ population health strategy - Healthy Ireland, while working in the Department of Health.
In addition to a range of academic qualifications and professional development achievements, Dr O’Keeffe holds a PhD and MSc in psychology and has Diploma and Certificate qualifications from the Institute of Directors Ireland.