Ms Caroline Counihan:

What I have observed is that, when such situations arise, the first port of call is very often a rape crisis centre and a number of sessions with a counsellor to tease things out. That is where, at a certain point, the light bulb goes on and people realise that they did not just think something was abuse, but that it was and that they had not seen the reality for what it was. Most of the time, what I hear is either a counsellor or the parent of a young person asking what the next steps are or asking about aspects of the legal process. They will have their list of questions but I am never really involved in discerning whether something was abuse or consensual. That is more the role of a counsellor or another wise mentor who has helped a person arrive at this realisation. Sometimes it just comes out of a conversation with a parent, an older wiser friend or even a contemporary. A person's friend may say that what happened to him or her was rape and that he or she should do something about it. Thank God, he or she then does. Our hope is that such people will then find their way to a rape crisis centre because these centres have the expertise to help and support them in teasing out what happened, in working out where the abuse began and in clarifying what happened to find the point where, as the Deputy said, it went from the consensual to something more sinister.

It is only later on, if at all, that the Garda is involved. People sometimes do not want to have anything to do with a formal report to An Garda Síochána. It should be borne in mind that if a young person is involved, a report will have to be made to Tusla. As the Deputy will know, Tusla shares information with An Garda Síochána, so the Garda will be alerted anyway. Quite often, the young person does not want to have anything more to do with it. Sometimes they do, and it is at that point that I would get involved. The person may seek legal advice or help. Sometimes, all that it is needed is an informal chat with a local, experienced, sympathetic, and well-trained person, usually a garda. This is the right person to talk to and can often answer many of the person's questions.

The extra bit I can offer is the independent viewpoint. I am not aligned with the prosecution; I am myself. I am essentially independent of the whole criminal justice process. I am there to support survivors. If a survivor, of any age, tells me that he or she absolutely does not want to go through with this, I will not say he or she has to. I am survivor-led. I will tell this survivor that it is up to him or her as to whether he or she decides to make a report. In fairness, members of the Garda are not heavy-handed when it comes to persuading people to report either but sometimes people can feel that even contact with An Garda Síochána is pressure and that they will have to report and there will be no way out of it. That is not actually the case. It is my job to reassure people that agency lies with them.