Funding must be provided for sexual abuse and violence study

Following the news that the Rape Crisis Network will not be able to provide statistics on 2016, and that the Government has pulled funding for a new Sexual Abuse and Violence Study, Labour spokesperson on Equality, Cllr Deirdre Kingston has called for the €1 million to be provided to ensure a full picture of the level of rape and domestic abuse in Ireland is provided.

Cllr Kingston said:

“The first Sexual Abuse and Violence Study was carried out in 2002, and now 15 years on it is time that the Government provided the funding that was committed to in 2015 to ensure a follow up is carried out.

“Despite the current Tánaiste committing to a second study in 2015, the Minister for Justice has now said he will not provide the €1 million necessary for the much needed in-depth research.

“This follows the news today that the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland will not be in a position to publish statistics on the experience of survivors of sexual violence.

“This means the only statistics that will be available will be from those who report the crime to An Garda Síochána.

“For many victims of sexual abuse and violence this is not an option, and they are not in a position to go to police. We need to let them know that their voice and their experience will be heard.

“Without such a study to determine the real level of sexual abuse and violence it will be impossible to properly plan for the investment needed in frontline services, and most importantly, really understand what kind of support victims need.

“The Department of Justice should reverse their decision and find the €1 million needed for the study. With an allocated budget of over €2.6 billion in 2018 this should be possible.”