Guide launched to harmonise reporting of sexual violence against children 

The guide, ‘Breaking the Silence’, defines 27 key terms, covering different acts of sexual violence, harassment, exploitation, and abuse against children, and key information that should be included about the child and the perpetrator. File photo

Rape Crisis Network Ireland launched a new terminology guide on Tuesday to help break the silence of sexual violence against children.

The RCNI has collaborated with 28 organisations that collect data on sexual violence against children and compiled a comprehensive resource that aims to harmonise definitions and terminology used in reporting and recording data on incidents of sexual violence involving children.

Research conducted by the RCNI showed that there are discrepancies between organisations as to how data about incidents are recorded. For example, seven organisations didn’t record the sex of the child involved, seven didn’t record the age of perpetrators, and nine had no definition of rape.

The guide, Breaking the Silence, defines 27 key terms, covering different acts of sexual violence, harassment, exploitation, and abuse against children, and key information that should be included about the child and the perpetrator.

Adoption of the proposed shared terminology and definitions will bring data collection into line with international obligations, including the Istanbul Convention, and enable the collection of reliable, comprehensive and comparable data.

#BreakingtheSilence is just a beginning. We need to expand the focus and the number of terms examined and compile a further report building on this foundation & including disability & other equality grounds.

Read #BreakingtheSilence here:https://t.co/NZslv4gBWi

— Rape Crisis Ireland (@RapeCrisisIre) February 22, 2022

Clíona Saidléar, executive director of RCNI, said sharing knowledge effectively between organisations is key to supporting children experiencing sexual violence.

“‘This is the first time we have come together to examine how we do that, to map the absences, gaps and assumptions and agree the set of terms and definitions that we can all use to build that shared knowledge. This not only makes us compliant with the law and our obligations, it empowers us to create change,’ she said.

The guide was supported by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth’s Learning Together Fund, aimed at increasing understanding and evidence-informed approaches to prevention and early intervention services for children, young people and their families.

Minister Roderic O’Gorman said the more comprehensive the picture of the violence against the child, the more comprehensive the advocacy, protection and interagency supports can be.

“Historically, children have been silenced by the use of vague and non-sexually explicit language that erases, condones, normalises or minimises violence against them. By using the shared, internationally recognised definitions and indicators provided in ‘Breaking the Silence’, the reports that Irish frontline services publish can contribute to the national and international evidence base on sexual violence against children,” he said.

Children’s Ombudsman Niall Muldoon added that coherent, agreed language will also go “a long way” in terms of prevention before sexual violence against children gets to the stage where it is reported to an organisation.

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“Parents, schools, clubs, and youth groups can begin the process of socialising children by appropriate language. It will leave much less room for interpretation and misunderstanding around what is meant by the language used in these scenarios,” he said.

“At the heart of what's being launched today, is a desire to facilitate the clearest and fullest representation possible of the levels and types of violence against children, in order to deliver in turn the best possible responses from service level on the ground, right up to policy and legislative decision-making levels.

"Sunlight is said to be the best disinfectant. It's by having clear robust data that we can start to shine that light on our children's real issues, and know exactly what we need to fix,” he added.