Emotional outpouring may lead to change in how rape trials are conducted

They said there were no winners in the rugby rape trial case, but it could yet be the catalyst for an overhaul of the legal process where currently the burden of proof is on the victim and not the accused.

A seed of hope was sown on the steps of Cork’s City Hall yesterday as organisers of a protest outlined how they plan to go about persuading the Government to set up a joint Oireachtas committee to conduct a root-and-branch review of the sexual abuse complaints process.

One woman, whose own case is currently with the DPP and who did not wish to be identified other than being a Sinn Féin activist, said the hope is that an Oireachtas committee would look at how to put in place better protections for abuse survivors who come forward with complaints “so that they don’t feel victimised”, or “in a position where society is naming and shaming them”.