'It's time to remove survivor 'shame', says Cork woman raped by father

CSO figures released this week revealed 36% of women who did not disclose sexual violence as an adult kept it secret because they felt ashamed or embarrassed

Amy Barrett is part of a support group for other survivors of sexual assault, and said that shame and embarrassment are universal emotions within it. Picture: Larry Cummins

A Cork woman whose father raped her repeatedly as a child said that shame is still carried by most survivors of sexual abuse, and a public awareness campaign is needed to tackle this.

Amy Barrett said that she was not surprised by findings in the Central Statistics Office (CSO) Sexual Violence Survey 2022 on disclosure of experiences which was published on Monday. 

It found that 36% of women who did not disclose sexual violence as an adult kept it secret because they felt ashamed or embarrassed.

Ms Barrett’s father, retired soldier Jerry O’Keefe, was jailed for 10 years in 2017 for her rape and sexual assault and for the sexual assault of her younger sister, Melissa O’Keefe, in their family home in Youghal, Co Cork.

Ms Barrett is part of a support group for other survivors of sexual assault, and said that shame and embarrassment are universal emotions within it.

“One thing we all have in common is the shame, guilt and embarrassment.

We’re still not talking enough about abuse. We need more education about what rape and sexual assault is. And victims need to know that they are not to blame.

The CSO study also found that most people who have experienced sexual violence as a child or adult do not disclose it to gardaí.

For adults who disclosed an experience of sexual violence as an adult, only 5% went to gardaí.

Ms Barrett said that her own experience of disclosing to gardaí was positive and she felt supported by officers throughout the process.

But she understands how talking through the abuse with gardaí can be difficult. 

“Going to the gardaí can be triggering, you’re going through so much again.

“But it can also be really empowering, it was part of my personal healing,” she said. 

Ms Barrett said that sensitivity training for gardaí is vital. And psychological phenomena like dissociation, suffered by many victims of sexual abuse, must also be understood by gardaí, she said.

I had a really good experience with gardaí but some of my experiences were not recorded because I only had partial memories of them. Because the abuse was so traumatising I blocked some of it out.

“If you go through a traumatic event, especially as a child, the brain can lock those memories away to protect itself."

Gardaí have encouraged any victim of sexual violence to report it to the force so that it can be investigated and perpetrators brought before the criminal justice system.

Significant investment has been made in this area with hundreds of specially trained gardaí working in local communities through the Divisional Protective Service Units, and increased training for gardaí in this area,

Garda National Protective Services Bureau Detective Chief Superintendent Colm Noonan, said.