Children's charities back rape laws referendum

Children’s charities tonight called on the Government to hold a referendum on new statutory rape laws before the close of the current Dáil.

As a special Oireachtas committee recommended a vote, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was urged to move quickly in order to plug the gap left after the Supreme Court struck down old legislation.

In May several of the country’s most senior judges decided it was unconstitutional to prevent an accused from using the defence of 'an honest mistake' when charged with having sex with a minor.

Barnardos chief executive Fergus Finlay called for urgent action, warning that abused children do not have the luxury of time.

“There is now an onus on all of us, but especially the political system, to put in place the necessary legislation and resources to make sure these recommendations become a reality for children,” he said.

“What that means is that in addition to the specific changes necessary to address the issue of ‘honest mistake’, there is now added urgency around the Government’s stated intention of holding a referendum on the broader issue of the rights of children.”

His calls were backed by ISPCC chief executive Paul Gilligan, who insisted the status quo should be addressed without delay.

“What this referendum should achieve for a child under 16 is that their rights are prioritised. The key thing here is that they are going to have to move on it quickly. Otherwise, the status quo will exist until they intervene,” he said.

Both charities welcomed proposals to bring the age of consent to 16 while creating a zone of protection for teens under 18 involved with people in authority.

Mr Gilligan added: “There’s no doubt that if these recommendations were implemented it would create a very robust protection mechanism in this country.”

Barnardos director of advocacy Norah Gibbons also welcomed other key recommendations including the new grooming offence, proposals for maximum life sentences for offenders who use positions of authority to abuse children and giving gardaí powers to provide soft information to crèches and clubs if someone applying for a job has been accused of child abuse.

“Those who use grooming or seduction-type behaviour towards children are the ones most likely to have multiple child victims and to have long-term, persistent patterns of behaviour,” Ms Gibbons said.

“The list of ‘persons in authority’ needs to be constantly reviewed and updated to ensure children are not put in a vulnerable position. Likewise, a protocol on the provision of ‘soft information’, in other words how it would work, needs to be put in place without delay.”

The ISPCC called for proposals to bring the age of consent to 16 to be given extremely careful consideration and referred to the Ombudsman for Children.

Barnardos called on the Government to make provisions for the appointment of a child advocate to represent children in trials.