Welcome for landmark ruling protecting assault victims from questioning on sexual experience

Questions around prior sexual experience are not relevant in sexual assault cases, says Dublin Rape Crisis Centre chief executive officer

The Supreme Court ruling established a right to protect victims of sexual violence from being questioned on their sexual experience.  Picture: Laura Hutton/RollingNews.ie

A landmark Supreme Court ruling establishing a right to protect victims of sexual violence from being questioned on their sexual experience has been welcomed by the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre.

Alleged victims of sexual violence are entitled to be protected from enquiries before and during a trial into their past sexual experience, including alleged sexual offences against them, the Supreme Court has determined.

Mr Justice Peter Charleton said a trial judge cannot order the prosecution to disclose to the defendant prior sexual experiences of the alleged victim unless this enquiry is shown to have a “material impact on the trial of the central issue” in a case.

Questions around prior sexual experience are not relevant in sexual assault cases, said Dublin Rape Crisis Centre chief executive officer Rachel Morrogh.

Interrogation of someone’s sexual history can also be used to paint an untrue picture of a victim, she said. Such questioning can also be used to discredit a victim, she said.

Rachel Morrogh said interrogation of someone’s sexual history can be used to paint an untrue picture of a victim. Picture: Andres Poveda

While Justice Minister Helen McEntee has done significant work to make the justice system more victim-centred, there is still more work to do, said Ms Morrogh.

Currently, an alleged victim’s counselling records can be released to the defence or prosecution lawyers, even without consent. The accused can see the parts of those notes deemed relevant to the trial.

Ms McEntee has said that she wants to see this changed.

“That’s something that victims of sexual violence really want to see political action on,” Ms Morrogh said.

“The minister for health has actually established a working group that is looking at the issue and it's our hope that there will be recommendations from that group that will change the situation.

We need to make sure that the message that survivors hear — and then it's reflected in their actual lived experience — is that the justice system does support victims and that it's somewhere that they will be believed and it won't be a traumatic experience. That it's something that is centred around them.

“Sexual violence isn't something that happens to other people," she said. "It happens to all of us and when the justice system is supporting victims it supports all of us.”