For the majority, men’s violence against women does not disturb their capacity to ‘realise their own potential’. But for women, we bear it and we become mentally unwell under its burden, writes Clíona Saidléar

Defendants should remain anonymous in rape trials unless they are convicted, according to the Bar Council of Ireland, a view supported by the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland (RCNI).

Reporting sexual violence and going through a criminal trial is arduous and challenging for many survivors and the system needs a major overhaul, writes Caroline Counihan.

Wrong language, weak sentences, poor resources: victims and those who support them are frustrated with the criminal justice system’s response to child sexual abuse material. Caroline O’Doherty reports

One-quarter of sexual assaults reported to gardaí last year related to incidents that happened more than a decade ago.

The Oireachtas Justice Committee will tomorrow be asked to consider establishing a specialist division of courts as part of family law reform.

Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) has said that Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, appeared to be “in the dark” regarding its own use of joint garda-social worker interview teams in child sexual violence cases.

The Probation Service and Rape Crisis Network Ireland have backed draft laws regarding the disclosure of information, electronic tagging and restricting foreign travels of convicted sex offenders.

The head of the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland (RCNI) said a conversation of “competition” developed around the Belfast rape trial.

Pre-recorded cross-examination should be piloted in the courts to better protect vulnerable witnesses such as rape victims, a report has found.

Victims of rape will be dissuaded from reporting the crime against them after witnessing the way the Ulster rape trial was conducted, it has been claimed.

Rape Crisis Network Ireland has said the number of sexual violence offences recorded for 2017 is only the “tip of the iceberg” as they only represent those who report a crime against them.

The failure to update the Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland study of 2002 renders victims of such behaviour invisible and is a political act, says Dr Claire Edwards

Victims of sexual violence are being “silenced” following the State’s decision to cut off funding to a national data collection system, rape crisis agencies have said.

The Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI), responding to the Government’s announcement of a referendum to be held on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, call on participants in the public debate to be respectful and informed by the best available facts and compassionate understanding when discussing the realities facing girls and women in Ireland pregnant following rape.

The University of Limerick (UL) has cancelled sexual consent workshops due to lack of interest.

Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) is to ask the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to clarify if the Government has a legal obligation to fund good data collection in the context of Tusla pulling funding for its database.

A new definition of consent to a sexual act has been signed off by Cabinet which campaigners say will make the law clearer for victims and judges.

Taxi drivers in Dublin are being asked to provide DNA samples as part of an investigation into an alleged rape.

A definition of consent is urgently needed in Irish law but while we wait for the law to catch up, Jessica Casey hears how colleges are educating students on sexual consent

A legal row over data protection has erupted between the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland (RCNI) and a State agency over its right to publish information gathered from abuse victims.

A REPORT published earlier this week by the Child and Family Agency, Tusla, contained some startling figures. 

About a year and a half ago, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, stopped its €250,000 funding of the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland (RCNI), effectively removing 70% of its funding overnight.

Almost half of gay and bisexual survivors of sexual abuse take more than 10 years to report it, according to research by the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland (RCNI).

Almost half of lesbian, gay, and bisexual survivors of sexual assault waited more than 10 years to report the abuse, according to research by the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland (RCNI).

We need to remove the myth that a rape victim who has consumed alcohol is in any way responsible for the crime committed against them, says Cliona Saidlear, head of the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland (RCNI).

Almost 80% of women who suffer abuse in the home never report it, according to Safe Ireland, the charity that supports women and children experiencing domestic violence.

The introduction of a statutory definition for consent is being examined by the Department of Justice and Equality.

A number of senior academics have come together in support of the Rape Crisis Network Ireland as the organisation struggles to cope with massive cuts in Government funding.

The biggest rape crisis centre in the country had more than 100 victims of past rape and childhood sexual abuse on a waiting list to receive therapy at the end of 2014.

The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs has defended the decision to cease funding the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland, saying areas had been identified where the money could be used better.

One of the country’s key rape support services has warned massive funding cuts could leave abandoned four out of five survivors of abuse.

OCCASIONALLY public policy decisions are made that suggest we have learnt little enough from the sordid experiences of our past and that our self image as a caring, protective society — a Christian or even a post-Christian one — might not be as accurate as we might wish.

The country’s rape support services face disarray after Tusla pulled the plug on funding for their co-ordinating body.

A victim of childhood sexual abuse was saved by the assistance she received from the Rape Crisis Centre. Attempts to cut funding for these centres will cost lives and silence victims, says ‘Rosie’ 

The Diageo-funded campaign against alcohol abuse is to continue using its latest advertisement despite criticism from rape counsellors that it targets victims of sex crimes.

IS it possible that the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland got the wrong end of the stick by calling for the immediate withdrawal of an advertisement aimed at raising awareness of alcohol abuse?