RCNI Press Release - 5 April 2011

RCNI Executive Director Fiona Neary stated ‘The contents of this tape are very serious for the Gardaí and the RCNI welcomes that the Garda enquiry has commenced. It is critical that someone speaking to the Gardaí about rape feels confident they will be treated with dignity and respect and that the crimes against them will be treated in a serious manner. The public, and victims of sexual violence, must be able to trust the Gardaí.’

The most up to date research, Rape and Justice in Ireland (RAJI) 2009, showed that most survivors of rape have a positive experience of the Gardaí. The same research also shows that for victims, any negative experience of the Gardaí can have a strong influence on whether they choose to stay with the legal system or not.

We can see from our National Statistics that survivors of sexual violence attending Rape Crisis Centres are choosing to report the crimes to the Gardaí in increasing numbers. The RCNI National Rape Crisis Statistics 2009 showed that 38.4% of survivors of adult sexual crimes, attending our services, reported to the Gardaí. This has been increasing year on year from a base of 18.2% in 2006.

Fiona Neary, continued, ‘we know that the attitude of Gardaí to rape victims make all the difference. The new Garda Policy on the investigation of sexual crimes (2010) shows an Garda Síochána commitment to training and responding to victims with dignity at all times. This policy responds positively to many of the relevant RAJI recommendations on Garda training. The higher levels of reporting amongst our clients, as evidenced in our National Statistics, shows increasing willingness for victims to put their trust in the Gardaí. The RCNI welcome continued Garda commitment to higher standards in responding to rape victims.'


Notes:

Please visit www.rcni.ie for RCNI National Rape Crisis Statistics

Rape and Justice in Ireland (RAJI), Conor Hanly, Deirdre Healy and Stacey Scriver, RCNI, The Liffey Press (2009) (to download the executive summary please see www.rcni.ie):

100 survivors of rape committed since 2002 took part in this research forming strand one of the book. Findings from this strand included:

• Most complainants found the interviewing Garda to be warm and sympathetic and most rated the atmosphere during the interview as warm and supportive. Two-thirds of complainants were satisfied or very satisfied with the interviewing officer. Those complainants who had been physically injured and those who had been raped by a stranger tended to give higher satisfaction ratings than those who were not injured or whose attacker was known to them. The prime reason for dissatisfaction with the interviewing Garda was stated to be their unsupportive attitude.

• Over 40 per cent of those who made a report seriously considered withdrawing their complaint, and the primary reason for this was a poor reaction from the Gardaí.

• Twenty-one participants reported that they had been encouraged to withdraw their statements, with family and friends and Gardaí being almost equally implicated. Nine participants did in fact withdraw their complaints.

for information please contact

Cliona Saidlear

087 2196447