Sex assault service sees one child per week

THE country’s only dedicated 24-hour examination service for child sexual assault victims dealt with more than one child a week last year — the youngest of whom was aged 18 months.

The service, for children and adolescents in the west and mid-west, was set up voluntarily last year by consultant paediatrician Dr Joanne Nelson, who had to lobby extensively to have it funded by the HSE.

The service saw more than 52 young people in 2011. Dr Nelson said two consultants now provide 24-hour cover at least 98% of the time, in and out of hours, and are hoping to train up more forensic examiners in child and adolescent sexual assault in the next few years to ensure long-term sustainability.

“Unfortunately, outside of our area, as yet there still is no dedicated 24-hour service for child sexual assault,” she said.

Dr Nelson said immediate specialist examination is crucial in gathering evidence for abuse cases, but only in about 10% of cases do young people present within seven days of abuse.

“Most of our cases are Gardaí cases and in terms of conviction, evidence is vital. When you have young children, four and under, who are not able to verbalise what has happened to them this limits prosecution also.

“We see young people across a whole spectrum of ages from under 4 to 14 and some historic cases up to 18; the youngest this year was 18 months.”

Details of a new national service for child victims of sex abuse are to be published early next year after an audit of current services was carried out. The HSE said, however, any new plans will have to be catered for within existing resources.

Mary Flaherty, head of CARI, a therapy and counselling service for people affected by child abuse, said it was “extraordinary” that when an adult is the victim of sexual abuse in any area of the country there is a network or services to support them.

“They have medical and social support but if you are a child options are very limited. There are two services in Dublin and one in Galway and although there are others who will carry out assessments around the country, they do not have the expertise or specialities they should. We are very hopeful now that a national service will be rolled out,” she said.

Currently, services across the country are not unified and do not operate in comparable ways.

Two services for young people in Dublin — St Clare’s and St Louise’s — are different to the Galway service in that they are assessment and therapy-based rather than the forensic medical examination which is available in Galway.

Dr Derek Deasy, director of the St Clare’s sexual abuse assessment and therapy unit at Temple Street hospital, said its main role is to carry out assessments and give opinions around allegations, as well as providing medical care. He said the unit had 230 referrals last year from the Dublin area.