Dáil debates

Tuesday, 16 October 2018

Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) (Amendment) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members]

 

8:45 pm

Photo of Fiona O'LoughlinFiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I commend my colleague, Deputy O'Callaghan, on bringing the Bill forward. Fianna Fáil is proud to bring this legislation forward because there is no doubt that it would, if enacted, provide victims of sexual violence with greater support and protection in the criminal justice process. The existing process does not support survivors adequately. In fact, it treats them poorly. That is not only important for survivors, it is also important because of the message and signal it sends to society about how sexual violence is viewed. We must send a very strong message about this issue.

It is frightening to look at the crime statistics published at the beginning of October by the Central Statistics Office, CSO.

They reveal that the trend of increased incidents of rape and other sexual offences is continuing. The number of recorded incidents of sexual offences was up over 10% for the second quarter of 2018 when compared with the same period the previous year. This trend has emerged over the past number of CSO releases and shows no sign of abating. The figure for the previous year was 16%, the figure for the year before that 10%, and the figure for the year before that 14%. Since 2014, therefore, the figures have increased significantly. While these figures are shocking, they are only for reported crimes. A survey conducted by Plan International Ireland and published last week, on 11 October, found that more than one third of women in Ireland have been physically harassed in public, which is shocking.

There were shocking reports in the national media at the beginning of the academic year on the numbers of students presenting to rape crisis centres reporting having been raped or sexually assaulted. The Irish Examinerran a front-page story on 25 September stating that since the commencement of the academic year, three college students in Cork had reported to the rape crisis centre that they had been raped. Very sadly, they felt they could not go to the Garda Síochána because of the circumstances. They felt it was their own fault as alcohol was involved. Two out of these three women have reportedly dropped out of college. Similar reports appeared in the media of students in Galway, where almost 50 students have reported incidents of rape and sexual assault in the past six months alone.

There are very many worrying features of these stories, and it is high time something was done to address the issues. Despite the statistics we have from the CSO, the fact remains that sexual offences are grossly under-reported. Sexual assaults are the most under-reported crime in the country and, as we know, many victims do not make a complaint to the Garda. The failure of Fine Gael to commission an updated SAVI report means it is difficult to ascertain the level of under-reporting, but a recent report in the UK found that 80% of sexual assaults there are not reported, and we have no reason to believe it is any different here. This under-reporting is undoubtedly due in part to a perception that the trauma of the attack can be compounded by a gruelling criminal justice process that does not provide sufficient supports to the complainant. Reasons for not reporting are often rooted in fear: fear of disbelief, of impact on family or community, of unjustified blame or of being let down by the system or hounded through it and the media. We have seen a lot of the latter within and outside this country in the past 12 months. What do we need to do? We need to empower survivors to be informed and to be fairly treated participants right throughout the criminal justice process. The legislation my colleague has introduced hopes to do a lot to achieve this.

One final comment I will make concerns sexual assault treatment units. There are six units in Ireland and they provide specialist care for women and men aged 14 years and older who have been sexually assaulted or raped. Specialist staff provide medical and psychological support to victims and help gardaí with the collection of forensic evidence. Unfortunately, there have been media reports of victims of sexual assault having to travel significant distances because the closest units have been closed or could not facilitate examination of the victim. It is completely wrong that a person subjected to a significant assault of this nature would then be expected to travel some distance to be examined. At a very minimum, the only unit in Dublin, the Rotunda, should be open on a 24-hour basis, seven days a week.

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