'I stupidly put my faith in our legal system': Councillor shares sexual assault story

In the wake of Josepha Madigan's revelation that she had suffered sexual assault, councillor Deirdre Donnelly told Katie Hannon on 'Liveline' on RTÉ Radio 1 that she too had been the victim of a sexual assault.

Minister Josepha Madigan's powerful speech in the Dáil, in which she said she herself had survived sexual assault, has prompted another politician to speak publicly about her experience of sexual abuse and criticise a justice system "that is not fit for purpose".

“I'm old enough to know that there are very few women my age who have not been subjected to some form of sexual assault in their respective lifetimes and I know this because I am one of them,” the Minister of State with responsibility for Special Education and Inclusion said during a discussion on sexual, domestic, and gender-based violence.