Groups concerned at long timeframe for sexual violence report

Concerns have been expressed about the length of time it will take to conduct and publish the long-awaited new study on sexual violence in Ireland.

The National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) and Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) both welcomed confirmation by Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan that the study — a follow-up to the groundbreaking 2002 SAVI report — would go ahead.

But they said giving the study a five-year timeline seemed excessive.

Orla O’Connor, director of NWCI, said: “We are seriously concerned about the long timeline of five years until the new report will be published.

“We urgently need up-to-date data on sexual violence in order to develop effective responses and prevention measures. If more resources are needed to reduce the timeframe, these should be urgently made available by the Government.”

DRCC spokesperson Noeline Blackwell raised the same issue. “We will not have any information on the prevalence of sexual violence until 2024 at the earliest, which is far too late,” she said.

The study will be carried out by the Central Statistics Office, a decision welcomed by both groups as it will form a database that the CSO can regularly update.

The original was a project of the DRCC, carried out by the Royal College of Surgeons, funded by Atlantic Philanthropies.

Ms Blackwell questioned the financial commitment to the study.

“There is a lack of a committed budget beyond the very modest allocation of approximately €150,000 in 2019,” she said, adding that assurances were needed that there would be adequate funding in subsequent years.

Mr Flanagan has said funding arrangements will be put in place once the CSO has submitted costings.

He also said the study would take time because of its scale — it will involve 5,000 participants — and because the intimate nature of the questions to be asked would require a lot of preparatory work, including specialist training.

Ms Blackwell and Ms O’Connor have urged Mr Flanagan to reconsider his plan to defer specific research on the experiences of marginal groups, such as Travellers, migrants, LGBTQI people, and people with disabilities, and on sexual harassment, until after the main study.

“It would be a great pity if we had to wait even longer to understand how some small minorities experience sexual violence as they might be at particular risk,” said Ms Blackwell.