Minister for Justice Simon Harris TD and Minister of State James Browne TD have today marked European Day for Victims of Crime.
This year’s theme is focussed on ‘achieving safe justice for victims for crime’. It is estimated that approximately 75 million people across Europe fall victim to crime each year.
Speaking today, Minister Harris said:
“In line with this year’s theme, the Irish Government is fully committed to supporting and promoting initiatives to ensure that all those who have been victimised have access to the support and services they need and get the justice they deserve.
“We are focused on giving victims a voice and really listening to them, to take on board their views and experiences and to deliver better outcomes for them and anyone else who may become a victim of crime.
“In 2020 Minister Mc Entee started a programme of reform under Supporting a Victims Journey, to make our justice system more victim-centred. Work is ongoing on delivering on this, and significant changes have already been made that are improving the experiences of and outcomes for victims.
“Our continued commitment to improve supports and services for victims is reflected in a range of policies and legislation, as well as unprecedented increases in our Budget allocations in recent years.”
Minister Browne opened a conference today to mark the day organised by the Crime Victims Helpline - the national support service for victims of crime in Ireland which is funded by the Department of Justice.
Speaking at the event, Minister Browne said:
“We have an obligation as the State to provide victims with what is needed, and we take that obligation very seriously.”
“Whilst we will never be able to undo the suffering experienced by victims, we must continue to do our utmost to ensure they are supported and treated with respect, cared for, and given the information needed on services and safeguards.”
“We must ensure that journey through our criminal justice system is as easy as possible, and remember that no matter what, it can be a very traumatic time for people. That is why ‘Supporting a Victim’s Journey’ is such an important piece of work, and I am very pleased to see the progress made on delivering on the promised reforms to date, which are having a real impact on people’s lives.”
‘Supporting a Victim’s Journey’ is the Department of Justice’s plan to help victims and vulnerable witnesses. Under this plan considerable work has already been undertaken to ensure that victims have confidence that the criminal justice system, and all those who work within it, will treat them with dignity and respect at every juncture, including by providing for:
- better training for professionals in the criminal justice system for dealing with vulnerable victims;
- the establishment of a course in University of Limerick to train intermediaries,
- the establishment of a Victims Forum;
- the roll-out out of Divisional Protective Services Units in each Garda division;
- the introduction of preliminary trial hearings; and
- the provision of extra funding for organisations supporting victims to address gaps in service provision by type and location.
The achievements delivered under Supporting a Victims Journey will be built upon by the implementation of the Zero Tolerance Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence. Strategy, launched last June. This ambitious, whole of Government 5 year Strategy aims to bring about changes in attitude to ensure our society has zero tolerance for any and all forms of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and that we continue to improve our systems of support for those that are victims of these terrible crimes.
Under the Strategy, Minister Harris is progressing legislation to -
- Double the maximum sentence for assault causing harm,
- Update sexual offences legislation, including in relation to the law around consent and to continue reforms to put the victim at the centre of the criminal justice system, and
- Improve the monitoring of sex offenders through the enactment of the Sex Offenders Bill.
Earlier this week, Minister Harris also brought the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022 to Committee Stage in the Dáil as it continues its progress through the Oireachtas. The content of this important piece of legislation is very much informed by the voice of those most affected by hate incidents.
The Bill will create new, aggravated forms of certain existing criminal offences – i.e. hate crimes - where those offences are aggravated by hatred of a protected characteristic including, for example, race or gender or sexual orientation.
As part of the Department’s work to foster a greater awareness of the rights that victims of crime have and the supports available to them, a new Victims Charter website was launched in 2020.
It brings together all of the information a victim of crime might need to know about their rights and details of all the different supports that are available both when engaging with the criminal justice system and more generally.
The Department is now working on extending the reach of this campaign by leading on a number of initiatives such as;
- The creation of print materials on the Charter and distributed them to public locations including Garda stations, emergency rooms, court houses, public libraries, and GP surgeries;
- Translation of this material into the languages outside of English most commonly used in Ireland including, most recently, Russian and Ukrainian;
- Creation of information videos focused on the Criminal Courts of Justice to inform victims of what to expect on the day they have to attend court as a witness; and
- Developing a media campaign to ensure that all victims, regardless of their ethnicity or background, know they have a right of access to information and to the services they need.
The commitment to improving supports for victims is also seen in the increased funding of €5.25m being made available this year to more than 65 organisations who work on the frontline with victims of crime including:
- national and larger organisations such as Women’s Aid, Ruhama, and One in Four;
- local organisations across the country working with victims such as Offaly Domestic Violence Support, Bray Women’s Refuge and Wexford Rape Crisis;
- general victims support organisations including Victim Support at Court; and
- specialist organisations including Migrant Rights Centre and Dignity 4 Patients.
In September last year, the Department of Justice led a delegation from across the Justice Sector in a joint initiative to raise awareness of supports to victims of crime at the National Ploughing Championships. Officials from the Department of Justice, as well as The Courts Service, The Legal Aid Board and the Irish Prison Service, welcomed over 1,000 visitors to the ‘Supporting Victims of Crime’ stand and answered many questions on various issues relating to crime.
It provided the Department with an opportunity to positively engage directly with people from across Ireland, many of whom can feel very isolated when a crime has been committed against them. It is important to the Department that anyone who finds themselves in that situation knows that they know they are not alone and that they are entitled to help and support from a range of agencies across the justice sector.
Also at the Ploughing Championship, The Minister of State at the Department of Justice, James Browne TD, launched the Rural Safety Plan 2022-2024. The Plan brings together and strengthens all of the various strands of work being carried out in relation to rural safety and seeks to enhance security in our rural areas. It enforces the importance that is rightfully placed on the welfare of rural Irish communities.
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