Sexual Violence

< Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence (DSGBV) < Sexual Violence

The Department of Justice leads the Governments response to sexual violence. This includes developing policy and legislation to tackle domestic violence as well as raising awareness of the issue through campaigns such as the'No Excuses' campaign on sexual harassment and sexual violence, and dedicated information for victims of sexual violence on the Victims Charter website.

If you are here because you are a victim of sexual violence, it is important that you know that there is help available to you and you don’t need to deal with this on your own.

It’s okay if you don’t know how to react. You may be physically hurt, emotionally drained, or unsure of what to do next. You may be considering reporting what has happened to you, but are unsure of where to start.

Learning more about what steps you can take following sexual violence can help ground you in a difficult time.

It’s important to know that recovering from a sexual assault or abuse is a process, and that process looks different for everyone. It may take weeks, months, or years — there’s no timetable for healing.

There are many Rape Crisis Centres around Ireland that can help you. The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre runs a national 24-Hour Helpline which can be contacted on 1800 77 8888. Telephone counsellors are available to listen 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year and offer a free, confidential listening and support service for women and men who have been raped, sexually assaulted, sexually harassed or sexually abused at any time in their lives.

A website is also available at RapeCrisisHelp.ie where you will find information about the professional support and the choices available to survivors of sexual violence.

The Department of Justice is currently implementing a programme of reforms of the Criminal Justice System. The plan ‘Supporting A Victim’s Journey: A Plan to Help Victims and Vulnerable Witnesses in Sexual Violence Cases’ will reform the system of investigating and prosecuting sexual crimes to create a more victim centred approach. The plan contains over 50 recommendations, with four overarching recommendations:

• Promoting better awareness of victims’ rights legislation;
• Promoting education about the meaning and importance of consent;
• Improving inter-agency co-operation and exchange of information, especially in relation to services for victims; and
• Ensuring consistency in service delivery.

More information on the plan can be found by Clicking here

The following are how sexual violence offences are defined in Irish Law. The language may seem cold but this is often necessary in legal definitions and it is important people know what the different types of sexual offences actually are.

Rape

Rape is defined as unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman who at the time of intercourse does not consent to it, where the man knows that she does not consent to the intercourse, or he is reckless as to whether she does or does not consent to it.

Sexual intercourse for the purposes of rape means vaginal intercourse. Rape is by definition only committed when a man has sexual intercourse with a woman without her consent.

Rape under Section 4

This is defined as a sexual assault that includes penetration (however slight) of the anus or mouth by the penis, or penetration (however slight) of the vagina by any objects held or manipulated by another person.

Aggravated Sexual Assault

This is sexual assault aggravated by serious violence, or the threat of serious violence, or is such as to cause severe injury, humiliation or degradation of a grave nature to the victim.

Sexual Assault

This is a sexual attack with a less serious level of violence than aggravated sexual assault. There are two parts to this offence: there must be intentional assault, and an aura of indecency.

Child Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse means forcing or manipulating a child to take part in sexual activity, which is always inappropriate for a child. Examples of child sexual abuse include the following:

• any sexual act intentionally performed in the presence of a child
• an invitation to sexual touching or intentional touching or molesting of a child’s body whether by a person or object for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification
• masturbation in the presence of a child or the involvement of a child in an act of masturbation
• sexual intercourse with a child, whether oral, vaginal or anal
• sexual exploitation of a child, which includes: Inviting, inducing or coercing a child to engage in prostitution or the production of child pornography [for example, exhibition, modelling or posing for the purpose of sexual arousal, gratification or sexual act, including its recording (on film, videotape or other media) or the manipulation, for those purposes, of an image by computer or other means]
• inviting, coercing or inducing a child to participate in, or to observe, any sexual, indecent or obscene act
• showing sexually explicit material to children, which is often a feature of the ‘grooming’ process by perpetrators of abuse
• exposing a child to inappropriate or abusive material through information and communication technology
• consensual sexual activity involving an adult and an underage person

Incest

Incest is sexual intercourse between a man and his granddaughter, daughter, sister or mother, or between a woman and her grandfather, father, brother or son.

Female Genital Mutilation

Female genital mutilation is defined as the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or any practice that purposely changes or injures the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. The practice is internationally recognised as a human rights violation of women and girls.

Other Sexual Crimes

Please note that attempting, aiding, abetting, counselling, procuring or inciting the commission of many sexual offences is also an offence.

There are a range of other sexual crimes, including crimes of trafficking adults or children for sexual purposes.

Sexual Harassment

The Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015 define harassment as unwanted conduct which is related to any of the 9 discriminatory grounds. Sexual harassment is any form of unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. In both cases it is defined as conduct which has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity and creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for the person and it is prohibited under the Acts. Complaints in relation to sexual harassment can be brought to the Workplace Relations Commission

If you have been the victim of a rape or sexual assault in the last 7 days, you may attend a Sexual Assault Treatment UnitSexual Assault Treatment Unit (SATU) with or without Garda accompaniment. SATU’s are a safe place that you can go to receive medical care when you have or think you may have been raped or sexually assaulted. They look after all genders and gender identities, aged 14 years and over. If you’re under 14, you can get help at Child and Adolescent Forensic Medical Assessment Services.

Each member of staff in the unit has received specialised training to provide care and treatment to you in a respectful, person-centred, non-judgmental environment.

There are currently six SATUs in Ireland. They are in Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Mullingar and Waterford. The contact details for each unit are detailed here

If you have been raped or sexually assaulted, you need to consider attending a SATU as soon as possible. You should consider doing this regardless of whether or not you wish to report the assault to An Garda Síochána. The idea of a physical examination may be distressing but seeking medical help is important. Injuries can be treated, you can be tested and treated for possible sexually transmitted infections (STIs), you can be offered emergency contraception, and be advised of the availability of counselling.

When you are seeking medical help you can ring your nearest Rape Crisis Centre who can organise someone to attend a SATU with you to provide emotional support.

There are three options in a Sexual Assault Treatment Unit:

• receive medical care and attention only
• receive medical care and attention and have forensic evidence gathered in the process and preserved, in case you wish to report to An Garda Síochána up to a year later
• receive medical care and attention, report to An Garda Síochána, and have forensic evidence taken.

The following information may be difficult to process if you have been recently assaulted but it is important information to know in case you do wish to report what has happened to you.

Washing yourself or the clothes you were wearing at the time of the assault could possibly destroy valuable forensic evidence.

If you can avoid drinking anything after an assault that involved oral penetration, a swab can be taken. Forensic evidence can strengthen the possibility of successfully prosecuting the offender. It is understandable if a victim cannot follow this advice.

All incidents of sexual violence should be reported to An Garda Síochána. However, it is up to any adult who has or is being assaulted to decide if they want to report the incident(s) of sexual violence or assault to An Garda Síochána.

Without committing yourself to anything, you can ring your nearest Rape Crisis Centre and you will be offered non-judgmental support, a listening ear and information. Rape Crisis Centres have trained volunteers to accompany you to the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit, the Garda Station and or to court, if you wish. The centre is a useful port of call at any stage, whatever you decide to do. Their services are for women and men.

You can call your local Rape Crisis Centre or the Rape Crisis Helpline (1800 77 88 88) for advice.

It is important to realise that the trauma of an attack will have both short-term and long-term effects on your life. Expert support in examining and dealing with these effects is your right.

Contact with others who acknowledge and understand your experience and how it has affected you will break the isolation you may feel.

What you can expect from counselling

Counselling gives you time and space to explore your feelings. The aim in counselling is to help you to reach your full potential, so that your experience of sexual violence no longer controls or overwhelms your life, behaviour and choices.

The counsellor is a professional, so you do not need to protect her or him from the intensity of your feelings or the details of your trauma, as you might feel you need to do with family members or friends you confide in.

You can see a counsellor in a Rape Crisis Centre even if you do not report to the police or go for a medical examination. It does not matter how long ago the assault happened.

How long will counselling last?

The pace of healing is different for each individual. It is affected by such things as the duration and intensity of the sexual violence, your relationship to the person who assaulted you, previous traumatic experiences and the degree of support you have outside of the counselling setting.

You may be with a Rape Crisis Centre for 6 sessions or 60. People often begin with weekly sessions and then spread out the time between sessions as they become better able to manage on their own.

Will you see the same counsellor all the time?

Yes. The first time you go to a Rape Crisis Centre, a counsellor will explain how they work. After that introductory session, the counsellor assigned to you will contact you and normally work with you for as long as you need.

Will counselling help you forget?

What counselling hopes to achieve is that the event becomes something which no longer takes over or controls your day-to-day life. Forgetting sexual violence is not a realistic or even desirable goal of counselling.

You may find that, in the course of counselling, you begin to develop positive aspects of yourself that have lain hidden or under-developed. Counselling will help you to understand that what you are experiencing is a normal reaction to an abnormal event. This does not in any way minimise the range and intensity of your feelings but reaffirms your normality in the context of what has happened to you.

The information in this section has been adapted, with thanks, from material by The Rape Crisis Network Ireland.

When a person is forced to participate in any sexual act without their consent, it is wrong. It is an invasion of physical and personal integrity. When we hear the words ‘rape’ or ‘sexual assault’ many of us think of a woman being attacked in a dark alley late at night. We know from research and from information from support services that it is more likely that sexual violence is carried out by someone known to the victim.

Women’s Aid have revealed that women using the Women’s Aid services disclosed that their partners have:

• raped them
• beaten them during sex
• drugged them and raped them
• raped them and said that sex is ‘his right’
• made women feel that it is easier to ‘give in’ as saying no will mean a violent attack
• forced women to carry out humiliating and painful sexual acts
• coerced them into sex
• raped and sexually abused them in front of their children
• taken sexually explicit images and videos and shared online and via text without their consent.

If this has happened to you, help is available. You don’t need to suffer on your own. Information on how to report to the Gardaí and medical help in the aftermath of a recent sexual assault can be found at these links.

However, specific help in relation to sexual violence in a domestic abuse situation can be found by ringing the Women's Aid 24hr National Freephone Helpline. This helpline offers confidential information, support and understanding to women in the Republic of Ireland, who are being abused by current or former boyfriends, partners or husbands.

The helpline can be reached by calling 1800 341 900, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Women’s Aid can refer you to a local, face to face support service or refuge.

Detailed information on national and local support services available to someone suffering domestic violence can be found here.

If you are a victim of or witness to a sexual crime or child abuse we would urge you to report this to An Garda Síochána.

You can do this by the following methods:

• Call 112/999 For An Garda Síochána in the case of an emergency. Examples of emergencies are a danger to life; risk of serious injury; crime in progress or about to happen; offender still at scene or has just left.
• Child Sexual Abuse Freephone Complaints of child abuse can be made over the phone and in a confidential manner to An Garda Síochána 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to 1800 555 222.
• Call your local Garda Station or report in person You can also contact your local Garda station in person or by telephone. Details of all Garda stations are available here. You may call to the Garda station accompanied by a friend or a support worker from one of the many victim support groups.

An Garda Síochána recognise the emotional and physical pain that victims of sexual crime and child abuse may be suffering. This suffering can often be to such an extent that victims feel that they cannot report the crime to An Garda Síochána. The Gardaí acknowledge this difficulty for victims, but encourage all victims of sexual crime and child abuse to make a complaint to An Garda Síochána to ensure that, where possible, the perpetrator is made accountable.

If you report, you will be assured that:

• it is the duty of An Garda Síochána to investigate fully all reports of sexual crime and child abuse, without exception. Your report will be treated seriously
• gardaí are trained to investigate your report in a compassionate, sensitive and professional manner. Every effort will be made to have a Garda of the gender of your choice allocated to the investigation. Every division of An Garda Síochána now has a specialised trained unit for the investigation of sexual violence, human trafficking, child abuse and domestic abuse. These are called Divisional Protective Support Units and the officers working in them have received specialist training on, among other this, engaging with victims of these crimes
• complaints of sexual crime and child abuse are recorded on the Garda Síochána PULSE computer system but access is restricted to personnel involved in the investigation and supervisors
• you will be given the contact details of the investigating Garda and kept updated on the progress of the Garda investigation on a regular basis. You will be provided with the PULSE Incident Number relating to your complaint
• you will be provided with details of available support services relevant to the crime that you report
• you may be accompanied by a solicitor and or another person of your choice when engaging with An Garda Síochána. You may also be provided with other special protective measures such as specially trained interviewers and or an interpreter, depending on your circumstances
• An Garda Síochána will communicate and work with Tusla The Child and Family Agency where any child protection concerns arise
• when the investigation is complete, an investigation file must be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions
• the rights of all parties involved in the investigation will be vindicated.

More information on reporting sexual crime can be found here or click here to learn more generally about how crimes can be reported.

The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre run a national 24-Hour Helpline which can be contacted on 1800 77 8888. Their telephone counsellors are available to listen 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year and offer a free, confidential listening and support service for women and men who have been raped, sexually assaulted, sexually harassed or sexually abused at any time in their lives.

A website is also available at RapeCrisisHelp.ie where you will find information about the professional support and the choices available to survivors of sexual violence.

Rape Crisis Centres provide a safe environment where survivors of sexual violence come first. All staff and volunteers deeply understand both the realities of sexual violence and the impact of all forms of sexual violence. Survivors’ reactions are viewed as normal responses to trauma and to coping with the aftermath of trauma.

All staff and volunteers are trained in the reality and extent of sexual violence. In supporting survivors through helplines, advocacy, counselling, medical or legal processes, Rape Crisis Centres understand the need to maintain confidentiality.

Contact information for the Rape Crisis Centres around Ireland can be found here.here.

If a decision is made to prosecute the person who committed a crime against you, you may be asked to be a witness in the Court Case against the perpetrator. Click here for information on what to expect from the Courts Process.

Rape Crisis staff can accompany you at any stage of the trial process- before, during and after court hearings. You can contact your local Rape Crisis Centre and trained staff or volunteers will organise to attend at court hearings with you. Whatever the outcome of your case supports services will remain available to you for as long as needed and in any future developments such a parole hearing or release of a perpetrator.

The Rape Crisis Network of Ireland have produced a detailed guide to the legal process for survivors of sexual violence. See Link herelink here.

One in four provides professional support to men and women who have experienced childhood sexual abuse.

Their contact details are as follows:

• by telephone on 01 6624070 Monday – Friday 9.30 to 5.30pm
• by email: info@oneinfour.ie
• by letter at 2 Holles St, Dublin 2, D02 FP40.

CARICARI (Children at Risk Ireland) provides therapy and counselling services to children, non-offending family members and groups who have been affected by child sexual abuse. Their contact details are as follows:

• by telephone on Lo Call 1890 924 567 (Republic of Ireland) or +353 1 830 8523 (UK and Northern Ireland). Lines are open from Monday to Friday 9:30am – 5:30pm
• by email: helpline@cari.ie

Sexual consent in defined in Irish Law and to summarise, a person consents to a sexual act if he or she freely and voluntarily agrees to engage in that act.

A person does not consent to a sexual act if he or she:

• is forced, or threatened with force, or is genuinely afraid of force being used against him or herself or against another person
• is asleep or unconscious
• is incapable of consenting because of the effect of alcohol or some other drug
• is suffering from a physical disability which prevents him or her from communicating whether he or she agrees to the act
• is mistaken as to the identity of any other person involved in the act
• is being prevented from leaving at the time at which the act takes place
• consents for that person
• is mistaken as to the nature and purpose of the act

There may be other circumstances where a person does not consent.

For example:

• a person can change their mind and can retract consent at any time before or during a sexual act
• a person who does not actively resist is not automatically consenting

The issue of consent is fundamental to understanding sexual violence. Although it is indisputable that sex without consent is rape, the concept of consent is often contested, both in courtrooms and in the discourse about sexual violence.

Recent research for this campaign shows there is some confusion about what constitutes consent in particular situations.

Much has been written about how we understand, or should understand consent and a list of such resources can be found below.

For more information on Consent click here, or for Educational purposes click here