Sexual abuse - Government must ease anxiety

THE marked upsurge in demand for access to the confidential therapeutic files of children in therapy for sexual abuse is a worrying development that ought to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

Up to now requests for access to such files have been the exception rather than the rule, according to the CARI Foundation which offers counselling to victims of child abuse and has long campaigned for strong legal protection for children.

Generally speaking, demands for sight of highly sensitive documents have come mainly from lawyers acting for the defendant in criminal cases. But, according to Mary Flaherty, CARI’s chief executive, applications for the right to see personal therapeutic files are growing in frequency, a trend also reported by other therapy services.