Gaps in Specialist Sexual Violence Training Must Be Addressed 

Rape Crisis Network Ireland Responds to Higher Education Authority’s Surveys On Sexual Violence and Harassment in Higher Education  Today’s Higher Education Authority Surveys of experiences of Sexual Violence and Harassment in Higher Education released by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris, makes for sobering reading. The students who took part in the survey described high levels of sexual violence and harassment and […]

Joining Up the Dots: RCNI welcomes Commitments Made in Dáil Debate

Following the murder of Ashling Murphy and the Sinn Féin Motion to the Dáil on 19 January 2022, RCNI welcomes government announcements.     RCNI Executive Director Cliona Saidlear said:   ‘The transformation in the past week is that the issue of Men’s Violence Against Women has been articulated, almost unanimously, as part of a system of misogyny.’   As Sinn […]

Rape Crisis Network Ireland Calls For Action To End Men’s Violence Against Women

The murder of Ashling Murphy has drawn universal focus on what we can do as a nation to combat violence against women and girls. We honour Ashling with our commitment to end men’s violence against women.  Clíona Saidlear, RCNI executive Director said: ‘We have not yet built and secured an infrastructure commensurate with the scale […]

Sustaining the Sector, Respecting the Survivor: RCNI Publishes Annual Statistics 2020

On Thursday 7 October,  Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) released its Annual Statistics 2020 report. RCNI represents seven Rape Crisis Centres around Ireland and collates annual statistics on who is accessing RCC helplines, appointments, and accompaniments, why they are using services, and what kinds of sexual abuse they have been subjected to.   The findings for 2020 indicate that regional […]

‘Storm and Stress: An Exploration of Sexual Harassment Amongst Adolescents’ To Be Launched This Month

Rape Crisis Network Ireland is delighted to announce that it will launch its new report ‘Storm and Stress: An Exploration of Sexual Harassment Amongst Adolescents’ on Thursday 29 July at 2pm.   The online event will be hosted by RCNI executive director Dr Clíona Saidléar and will include contributions from Dr Conor O’Mahony, Government Special Rapporteur […]

‘A Lot to Rebuild and A Lot to Begin’

Rape Crisis Network Ireland Responds to ‘Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence: An Audit of Structures’ Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) welcomes today’s publication of Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence: An Audit of Structures, commissioned by the Department of Justice in consultation with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. The publication sets out findings and recommendations arising […]

‘Significant Progress Towards a Safer Online World’

RCNI Submission on the General Scheme of the forthcoming Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2020  RCNI has published its submission to the Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sports and Media on the General Scheme of the forthcoming Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2020. The submission includes a number of observations and recommendations that focus on […]

The Criminal Justice System Must Support Victims Of Sexual Violence In Every Way Possible

Response to Joint Oireachtas Committee for Justice Report on Victims’ Testimony in cases of rape and sexual assault  Rape Crisis Network Ireland welcomes the report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee For Justice Report on Victim’s Testimony in Cases of Rape and Sexual Assault published last week and was pleased to have been invited to make a submission and oral presentation to the Committee. The criminal […]

RCNI Welcomes the Criminal Procedure Bill’s Introduction of Statutory Preliminary Trial Hearings

Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) welcomes today’s announcement by  Minister of State for Law Reform, Youth Justice and Immigration, James Browne TD that new legislation to overhaul the operation of criminal trials has been passed by the Oireachtas. RCNI Executive Director Cliona Saidlear welcoming the Bill said, ‘this Bill is all about survivors getting justice and getting justice in a timely manner.’  The Criminal […]