Sexual violence claims ‘stymied by legal system’

THE legal system needs to be overhauled so more allegations of sexual violence result in convictions, a legal expert urged yesterday.

Dean of Law at University College Cork, Professor Caroline Fennell, said the best legislation in the world is useless if cultural perceptions and attitudes are allowed in courtrooms.

“Cultural myths still surround someone’s past sexual history and the law can be affected by it,” Prof Fennell said.

She was speaking on the second day of a national conference in UCC on sexual violence, hosted by the Sexual Violence Centre in Cork, as part of its 21st anniversary celebrations.

Prof Fennell said judges can still insist a victim’s statement needs to be corroborated in rape or sex assault cases. She said this kind of evidence is difficult to supply in rape cases as the attacks usually happen in secluded locations with no witnesses. She said in 2000, a judge warned a jury in a rape case it should not rely on the testimony of the woman without corroborating evidence.

“By doing so, the narrative of the victim is diminished,” she said, adding that corroborating evidence can “spell the death knell of a criminal conviction”.

Questions on past sexual history were also supposed to be a thing of the past, but judges can lift this ban if they feel it is unfair to the accused.

“We need to explore the hidden assumptions in law based on cultural beliefs or stereotypes. No matter how perfect the law, it can not work through these barriers,” she said.