RCNI Welcomes the Commencement of Criminal Procedure Act 2021
RCNI today welcomes the commencement in full by Minister for Justice Helen McEntee of the Criminal Procedure Act 2021. This Act introduces preliminary trial hearings, including those related to sexual offences, that can now take place from today. RCNI has lobbied for the introduction of pre-trial hearings since 2008 and they are an important part […]
Breaking the Silence: Preventing Sexual Violence against Children: shared purpose, shared language
Preventing Sexual Violence against Children: shared purpose, shared language On Tuesday 22 February, Rape Crisis Network Ireland launched ‘Breaking the Silence: Terminology Guidelines for Data Collection on Sexual Violence against Children’ at an online event featuring contributions from Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Inclusion and Youth Roderick O’Gorman, Biljana Brankovic, member of GREVIO, the independent expert body […]
Rape Crisis Network Ireland Welcomes Consultation on the Third National DSGBV Strategy
RCNI welcomes today’s opening of Consultation on the Third National Strategy to Combat Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (DSGBV) by Minister for Justice Helen McEntee and its stated goal of ‘zero tolerance’ of violence against women and girls. In particular, we strongly welcome the proposed new dedicated agency on DSGBV which will be established […]
Statement on Child Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation Material (Amendment) Bill 2022
Rape Crisis Network Ireland strongly supports in principle the replacement of “child pornography” in the current legislation with “child sexual exploitation material” outlined in the Child Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation Material (Amendment) Bill 2022 brought by Senator Eileen Flynn last week. We would like to congratulate Senator Flynn on this very important initiative. As it […]
Breaking the Silence: Terminology Guidelines for Data Collection on Sexual Violence against Children
‘With an estimated 2% conviction rate* on reported Child Sexual Violence cases, making sure we can tell the child’s story, wherever they break the silence, is essential’ says Cliona Saidlear, Executive Director of RCNI, ‘All services and professionals meeting a child’s needs must be able to join up their knowledge with others’, especially when our […]
Gaps in Specialist Sexual Violence Training Must Be Addressed
Rape Crisis Network Ireland Responds to Higher Education Authority’s Surveys On Sexual Violence and Harassment in Higher Education Today’s Higher Education Authority Surveys of experiences of Sexual Violence and Harassment in Higher Education released by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris, makes for sobering reading. The students who took part in the survey described high levels of sexual violence and harassment and […]
Joining Up the Dots: RCNI welcomes Commitments Made in Dáil Debate
Following the murder of Ashling Murphy and the Sinn Féin Motion to the Dáil on 19 January 2022, RCNI welcomes government announcements. RCNI Executive Director Cliona Saidlear said: ‘The transformation in the past week is that the issue of Men’s Violence Against Women has been articulated, almost unanimously, as part of a system of misogyny.’ As Sinn […]
Rape Crisis Network Ireland Calls For Action To End Men’s Violence Against Women
The murder of Ashling Murphy has drawn universal focus on what we can do as a nation to combat violence against women and girls. We honour Ashling with our commitment to end men’s violence against women. Clíona Saidlear, RCNI executive Director said: ‘We have not yet built and secured an infrastructure commensurate with the scale […]
Sustaining the Sector, Respecting the Survivor: RCNI Publishes Annual Statistics 2020
On Thursday 7 October, Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) released its Annual Statistics 2020 report. RCNI represents seven Rape Crisis Centres around Ireland and collates annual statistics on who is accessing RCC helplines, appointments, and accompaniments, why they are using services, and what kinds of sexual abuse they have been subjected to. The findings for 2020 indicate that regional […]
