Ireland to create public register of domestic violence offenders

By Kara Fox, CNN

(CNN) — Ireland has approved landmark legislation to create the country’s first public register of domestic violence offenders, in a move campaigners say will empower people to check whether a potential partner has a history of violence.

Known as Jennie’s Law, the Domestic Violence (Judgements) Register Bill passed Wednesday in the Dáil, or Irish parliament, following years of campaigning by the family of Jennifer Poole, a 24-year-old mother-of-two who was murdered by her former partner in April 2021.

Poole did not know he had a history of abusive behavior, including a conviction for assaulting a former partner.

The online register will publish the names of those convicted of serious domestic abuse offenses, including rape, sexual assault, non-fatal strangulation, harassment, coercive control and non-consensual sharing of intimate images.

While public, there will be limits to the online register. The trial judge has the discretion to determine if publication is warranted based on the specifics of the case, and the perpetrator’s name will only be published if the victim gives consent.

The published names will contain details of the conviction and sentence and will be hosted on the Irish Courts Service website. Offenders will be able to apply for removal no earlier than three years after conviction, according to the legislation.

Poole’s brother Jason described the register as a “massive way forward” to changing the culture around domestic violence, telling Irish broadcaster RTÉ last year that it would mean potential victims “know who they’re living with,” unlike his sister, who didn’t know her partner had a previous conviction and had served prison time.

Lawmakers gave a standing ovation to the Poole family, who were present as the legislation passed, local media reported.

The new Irish register appears to make the country an outlier across Europe.

In the United Kingdom, Clare’s Law allows people to ask the police about a person’s history of abuse or violence, but not everyone is entitled to receive the information.

Critics of the UK system argue that it is plagued by long backlogs and highly inconsistent approval rates across different police forces.

Ireland’s legislation comes at a time of heightened urgency around the issue of femicide.

Last week, Women’s Aid Ireland reported that eight women have died violently so far this year, already overtaking the whole of 2025.

One in three women in Ireland have been subjected to domestic abuse, according to the charity, mirroring the global average, with the most significant threat of gender-based violence coming from within a woman’s immediate personal life, rather than from strangers.

Globally, 83,000 women and girls were intentionally killed in 2024, the latest year for which data is available, according to UN Women. Of these homicides, 60% (nearly 50,000) were committed by an intimate partner or family member, it said.

This equates to 137 women and girls losing their lives every day, or one every 10 minutes, it said.

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