Liz McManus, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Renewal

I RAN the Women's Refuge Centre in Bray for 17 years. I believe that the resolution of violence not its cause lies in women's new assertiveness. It is the passive women who end up getting battered. Only a generation ago women were encouraged to be passive, they were told You've made your bed, now lie in it. Today, it is the assertive women who are trying to break the cycle of domestic violence.

"It should not be forgotten either that it was the women's movement full of assertive women which ensured that legislation was brought in to protect women in the home. Women are feminising politics and highlighting their own concerns notably about the needs of children at every level of society. This new input is very beneficial for everyone.

"There is a cultural change going on. The genie is out of the bottle. It is creating its own disturbance. Women are achieving so much, some men feel undermined. It is now a question of ensuring good relations between men and women which are based on equality. This stage is probably transitory, and while it lasts we are all going to have to adapt and compromise.

. Rachel Hegarty, women's rights officer in the Students' Union at TCD

THERE is no new breed of tough, assertive women. Women have always been assertive. How could they have children, run a home, or have a career if they weren't? And as for being rough, the world is a tough place. Walking down the street looking like Audrey Hepburn just isn't going to back it. My father was the Irish Olympic team judo coach, and he brought me up to have a lot of street savvy. If you are walking down O'Connell Street at 4 a.m. looking for a taxi, you'd better be looking tough, otherwise you haven't got much of a chance.

"Angela MacNamara's letter was a rant. I find it hard to make head or tail of it. She starts off talking about child rearing and corporal punishment, and then goes on to say that assertive women evoke violence in men. She's trying to find one simplistic solution which will set the world to rights. It is patronising to women I don't want to sit around like a bungalow head, with nothing upstairs. I have opinions and I find that when I express them men are interested, not threatened. Her attitude is patronising to men too she implies that you can't trust men, or even think of them as adults.

"She assigns blame in the wrong way. Rape and violence against women are crimes for which the criminal is responsible, not the victim. Her logic is off the wall I thought that sort of reasoning went out with witch burning. I am horrified to think that some 12 year old girl might be sitting in a school having to listen to this. It is a slap across the face for anyone who is trying to live in the 20th century."

. Olive Braiden, director of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre

IF MEN feel angry and made it is not women's fault. Men just have to learn to handle it. In the early days of feminism, when women had difficulty in finding their place in society, they met Van groups and looked at positive ways of resolving this. If men are experiencing similar difficulties now, they are going to have to get together and resolve it for themselves in the same sort of way.

Women have been blamed like this before. You hear it said that if only women stayed at home and looked after the children, there would be more jobs for men. But the fact is that women are more assertive now, and they are beginning to rise in positions of power. The resentment against them builds up.

"I don't think there has necessarily been a rise in violence towards women. It is being reported much more than it used to be women are not prepared to put up with it as much as they were. Worldwide statistics show that violence is almost always perpetrated by men only 2 per cent of violent abuse is carried out by women. Of the people who come to the Rape Crisis Centre for counselling, we would see only about 10 men out of a total of 200.

"It should be part of our education to learn how to express our feelings, including anger. Women internalise their anger and end up hurting their own psyche men externalise their anger and inflict it on others. Neither is healthy."

. Liavin Mallin, managing director of Celtic Hampers Businesswoman of the Year, 1995 holder of the women's world record for distance to goal hang gliding (132 miles)

THE comment by Ms MacNamara regarding a new breed of women is absolutely ridiculous. Women in their traditional roles have had to be tremendously strong, often solely responsible for raising a family alone. Ms MacNamara has missed the wood for the trees, in that it is not women who have changed, but society for the better, offering more choices to women.

"The important issue is that the family unit which so concerns Ms MacNamara must adapt to this new circumstance. While in her letter last week she raises a valid point regarding acceptable levels of television violence, the reality is that violent men in relationships tend to attract or select submissive women, not at all the tough, assertive women whom Ms MacNamara blames for this violence.

. Roisin McDermott, chairwoman of Women's Aid

ANGELA MacNamara's remark is extraordinary. It is the exact opposite of everything we in Women's Aid stand for, and we are on the coal face of male violence against women. We believe that male violence is a social and cultural issue for which men have to take responsibility. It is irresponsible of Ms MacNamara to claim that one gender is responsible for the behaviour of the other it is also insulting to men, implying that they are all potentially violent and whether they express the violence or not depends on the way a woman behaves.

"It reminds me of Finola Bruton's speech, which suggested that feminism was contributing towards young men around the country feeling excluded. If men are feeling marginalised and unhappy, we should look at the causes. In our society, we tend to measure success according to material things, and what sort of job you have. It is hard for a young man who doesn't have a job. But women do not cause unemployment. They have to put up with it as much as the men do.

"It just does not make sense to blame women to male violence it amounts to blaming the victim for the assault she has suffered. Women, like men, are all individuals they can be sexy aggressive, passive or mild but no woman invites violence". No child invites violence either, but no one would ever dare to even suggest this about children.

"It is a well recorded fact among professionals who deal with a variety of problems, from alcoholism to gambling addiction, that you can't change a person's behaviour unless that person is prepared to take responsibility for his own actions. In Women's Aid we give workshops for boys in schools. We try to tell them about the need for equality, love and mutual respect in relationships. We tell them that they have to take responsibility for what they do, to question their behaviour if they hit a girl, any girl. Is Angela MacNamara saying that maybe things should be different if that girl they hit is a tough, assertive girl? It seems that she is giving a very different message from ours.