Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is vitally important that the provisions contained within a Bill such as this strengthens the laws against sexual offences. I would also suggest that of similar importance is a Bill that is structured in such a way as to give victims of these crimes the confidence to enter the legal process in the knowledge that it provides the assistance and protections that people in their situation should rightly be afforded.

We are all aware of reports that people who fall foul of sexual violence do not come forward because of negative perceptions of the procedure. Therefore, I welcome the inclusion of reforms in the areas of expanding anonymity and excluding the public from courtrooms in which, it must be said, are the most intimate of judicial procedures.

It is here that I also want to point out my support for the inclusion in trials of sexual assault of the victim's right for separate legal representation over and above the State's prosecution team if there is an application to question them on their previous sexual experience. As the O'Malley report said, the experience of a victim as a witness in a trial for sexual assault may be no less difficult or traumatic than in a trial for a rape or aggravated sexual assault offence.

The issue of character references is also worth comment. As matters stand at present, a written character reference or testimonials, not sworn and the person submitting it, cannot be challenged if necessary. This, of course, can leave a victim voiceless against any assertion that can be made about the convicted person. As part of this Bill, character references presented at sentencing must be made via oath or affidavit. It is also worth noting that these statements and character evidence serve little purpose legally as they are introduced after conviction has taken place and have little or no impact on the sentencing decision.

I want to turn to the provisions on tackling human trafficking, in particular, allowing for designated competent authorities or trusted partners to identify victims and for civil society organisations to support victims of trafficking. It is about time for this to become a reality because well-publicised instances of human trafficking have seen the important role that civil society organisations can play in terms of intelligence and in the identification of victims of trafficking.

Finally, it is good to eventually see measures being inscribed here that will enable ratification of the second optional protocol to the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child regarding the sale of children, child prostitution and child abuse imagery. It has been said that we are not screening for Irish trafficking for sexual exploitation as well as we should be, resulting in the statistics identifying trends understating what the reality probably is. If this Bill can address this, it will be work well done. I look forward to it being debated further.

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