OPINION: Conor McGregor shows we still can't see bigger picture of male violence

The case that unfolded over the last month has proven harrowing and for many women, disheartening.

No matter what horrifying detail was revealed, no matter how aggressive McGregor became on the stand or in front of the press, Nikita Hand had to come out the liar just like all of the other women before her.

When Conor McGregor was found liable for the rape of Nikita Hand and ordered to pay damages, it should have been enough to show that she had told the truth, that her evidence and witnesses were enough, but it was not.

READ MORE: 'My sons will be warned women like you exist' - Dee Devlin speaks out over Conor McGregor verdict

Instead, many began to pedantically hit out over the difference between being 'guilty' and being 'liable', the very same people who will argue to their graves that a 'not guilty' verdict for rape means a person is objectively innocent because they supposedly trust the same justice system that decided McGregor was liable for rape.

At this point, it's sickening to have to watch the same discourse repeat itself over and over, the question should stop being what monetary gain women are looking for and shift to why are these men propped up in positions of power and status despite their clearly evolving patterns of violent behaviour?

Last week, Women's Aid and Core Research shared findings that 2 in 5 Irish men in their twenties hold 'traditionalist' views, when they expanded on what this means it was revealed that many of the men surveyed believe advocating for gender equality was not a priority for them and that women 'exaggerate' the issues we face.

This is absolutely relevant to this case as the ways in which Nikita Hand has been spoken about in public discourse show that the public feel entitled to make victims grovel and act like shrinking violets to earn their belief in their stories.

So from a media standpoint, what do we do? Do we not share the warnings and just sensationalise the consequences? Do we continue to treat these as isolated issues rather than acknowledge that violence against women in Ireland is occurring at endemic levels?

Sometimes the public service of informing the public is really hard to do especially when it involves information and objective realities that many do not want to hear. However, it is extremely unsafe to not share findings and details that show that women are not safe and why that is.

The big picture shows that it is not just the violent act, it's the choice to be a bystander, to enable and protect the offender and think that you still are not part of the problem just because you did not put your hands on someone.

The big picture is connecting reductive, misogynistic views on women and our rights to increasing levels of violence and taking our hard fought for rights away. The violation of our bodies, the brute force used on thousands of us does not begin and end at the offender, everyone surrounding the perpetrator who does nothing makes up a part of whatever instrument is used to hurt us.

Furthermore, refusing to acknowledge the brutalisation a victim experienced because they may not be likeable or you disapprove of their activities at the time of their attack is a deeply troubling stance to take. This appears to be a common trend and Dee Devlin's Instagram story only served to further perpetuate that.

Rape is an unjustifiable, intimately violent act that no one should ever commit against someone else. It is not self-defence, it is not a punishment for women who take substances or get drunk, it is an inexcusable act of violence that no one brings on themselves.

When Dee Devlin now infamously said "My sons will be warned women like you exist" she may not have meant to, but she has reignited and strengthened the women's movement against the very type of man she is currently standing by.

She might be right to warn her boys, for their own sake, that any man who feels entitled to violate someone else's body should absolutely be wary of women like Nikita Hand. 

In fact, they should also be warned of women like Lavinia Kerwick who made legal history as a teenager in 1992 when she waived her anonymity to speak publicly about her rape ordeal and appalling experience in court because she wanted other victims to treated better than she was.

Dee should warn her boys that Lavinia is still active today in her support for victims, most recently, Natasha O'Brien and Bláthnaid Raleigh. Bláthnaid and Natasha are two more women who Dee should also warn her sons about because they have ensured through their advocacy that the day will come where justice is served to the full extent of better laws.

These three women and now Nikita Hand are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the fight for bigger societal changes to how we treat women, you may only know these names but rest assured there are thousands more coming behind them.