Press release
Tackling sexual violence and building a victims centred approach a priority - Minister McEntee
Published on
Last updated on
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Justice and Equality, Helen McEntee TD, has today (Thursday 5 August) published the O’Malley Review of Protections for Vulnerable Witnesses in the Investigation and Prosecution of Sexual Offences.
The Minister announced that she would develop an implementation plan, working with the NGO sector and stakeholders, and would report back to Government with a detailed plan of action within 10 weeks.
The Minister said:
"As Minister for Justice, I want to ensure that we can effectively tackle the scourge of sexual violence, which is a blight on our society.
"We must work together to tackle and reduce the levels of these terrible crimes, and where an offence is committed, and where a wrong is done, we must ensure that all necessary supports are in place so that victims will feel safe and supported when they come forward.
"To do this, we must have in place a victim-centred approach. I want the victims of sexual crimes to know that they will be listened to, that they will be treated with respect and dignity, and that they will be supported throughout the process.
"And I want the perpetrators of such crimes to know that the crime they commit will be reported, will be investigated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
"I want to ensure that the victims of sexual violence have the correct supports. That means access to their own independent legal advice or support, if they need it, someone who can be with them and explain the process and advise them throughout the process, not only while the trial is underway as is currently the case.
"I look forward to working with stakeholders and with the NGO sector to consider the report further and to develop an implementation plan which I will bring to government within 10 weeks. It is important that the voices of victims and those who work with them are clearly heard as we draw up our Plan."
The Report published today contains over 50 recommendations, with four overarching recommendations:
The Minister indicated that a number of actions would be immediately prioritised.
These include:
The Minister indicated that the implementation plan, which will be brought to government within 10 weeks, will include timelines for delivery.
Among the issues dealt with in detail in the O’Malley report, and which will be considered as part the implementation plan, are:
Minister McEntee concluded:
"The completion of this report, received in recent days, is very welcome. The report is comprehensive and the recommendations are detailed and far-reaching.
"The content of the report will need careful analysis to determine a swift and effective policy response and implementation plan. I am keen to commence work on a number of actions immediately, and look forward to working with stakeholders, frontline partners and the NGO community on this.
"Developing an ambitious implementation plan is a priority for me as Minister for Justice."
ENDS
The full Report can be found here.
This Review was prompted by widely shared concerns about the experiences of vulnerable witnesses in criminal proceedings for sexual offences. In particular, there was unease in the wake of a trial in Belfast Crown Court in 2018, which has come to be known as the ‘Belfast rugby rape trial’. The then Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan TD, requested the Review to examine key aspects of the criminal justice process as it relates to vulnerable witnesses, and to identify ways in which the treatment of such witnesses might be improved.
The Review Group included representatives from the main agencies involved in the investigation, prosecution and trial of sexual offences: An Garda Síochána, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Courts Service and the Probation Service. It was chaired by Tom O’Malley, barrister, Commissioner at the Law Reform Commission, Senior Lecturer in Law at National University of Ireland Galway, and author of the definitive legal texts on sexual offences law in Ireland.
The Terms of Reference for the Review were published in September 2018 and specified completion of the report by the end of December 2018, or as soon as possible thereafter. It is likely that the publication of the Report will lead to renewed debate on sexual offending, the treatment of vulnerable witnesses, the supports available to victims and on related matters such as consistency in sentencing and the provision of training for all those who come into contact with the victims of sexual crime.
The report describes the constitutional framework within which the rules and practices relating to the investigation, prosecution and trial of criminal offences, including sexual offences, must operate. It also provides a summary of the many progressive statutory measures that have been introduced in recent years to assist victims of sexual crime, especially during trial.
Overall, the recommendations are intended to improve the present system by ensuring, as far as possible, that victims of sexual crime have access to information and advice from the time at which the offence was committed, that they will be kept informed of the progress of investigation, that they will be facilitated in giving their best evidence if called as witnesses and that they will be treated with respect and dignity throughout the process.
Several of the recommendations are intended to assist all vulnerable witnesses, whether they are victims of an offence or otherwise.
In conducting the review, Mr O’Malley and the Working Group met with interested stakeholders as follows:
Mr O’Malley received a number of submissions including from the Bar Council of Ireland, the Count Me In! Campaign, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, the Legal Aid Board, Mens’ Voices Ireland, One in Four, the Rape Crisis Network Ireland, Temple Street, Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Women's Aid as well as interested individuals and survivors of sexual offences.