Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to be here today to launch One in Four’s Annual Report for 2015. The Report gives us a detailed insight into the work that Maeve and her team in One in Four do in the fields of therapy, advocacy and prevention.
One in Four has done tremendous work for those affected by sexual abuse since its foundation in 2002. Its vision is of an Irish society where children are safe from the threat of sexual abuse. Moving from a society where one in four is sexually abused, to a society where nobody is abused is one that I would wholeheartedly endorse.
I can see from the Report that you helped over 650 advocacy clients last year in a wide variety of ways such as navigating the criminal and civil justice systems including court accompaniment. You also dealt with child protection issues and housing, education and social welfare issues.
Another key feature of your work is therapeutic interventions. Last year you provided over 2,500 psychotherapy hours to over 100 clients. I understand that each client gets at least 20 hours to help ease the trauma of the abuse that they suffered.
Your innovative Phoenix Programme works with sex offenders, their families and statutory services to help offenders confront the harm that they have caused to support them in living lives that are free from sexually harmful behaviour. It is especially important as it is a programme for non-convicted offenders. I am sure that this initiative is protecting children across the country today and will help to ensure that future children will not have to endure the suffering of shame, isolation and self-blame that is all too real for victims of sexual abuse until they receive assistance from organizations such as yourselves. It is also striking that you as an organization founded to help victims had the courage to reach out to help offenders. You recognized that this was one way to reduce the number of victims in the future.
The totality of your work is encapsulated in the statement on your website “Sexual abuse – from surviving to living”. This is important as it speaks of your work to move those effected by these terrible crimes from being survivors to living the fullest lives possible.
Last week in Dáil Eireann I moved the Second Stage of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015. The Bill is the most comprehensive and wide ranging piece of sexual offences legislation to be introduced in almost a decade. This Bill owes so much to the contribution of many people and organisations across civil society. I would like to thank all those who made representations or submissions to myself, to my Department or to Oireachtas Committees.
Those contributions are reflected in the provisions of this Bill which include strengthening our existing laws to combat child pornography, new measures to combat the sexual grooming of children, the updating of laws in relation to incest and indecent exposure as well as the amendments to the Criminal Evidence Act 1992 which focus on the victims of sexual offences.
Other measures to protect victims of sexual offences include the introduction of harassment orders prohibiting convicted offenders from contact with their victim.
The Bill also makes provision for the repeal and replacement of section 5 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 in relation to the protection of mentally impaired persons. The changes made mean that the law will not presume that the existence of a disability implies a lack of capacity to consent.
Finally, the Bill criminalises the purchase of sexual services. I am convinced that these provisions are necessary to tackle the exploitation associated with prostitution.
The Bill will introduce a number of new offences which will see recruiting or causing a child to participate in a pornographic performance becoming a specific offence.
All of us here today know that child pornography is increasingly a technology-enabled crime and we must identify and combat new means of disseminating this form of child abuse material. To that end, the Sexual Offences Bill will introduce a specific offence of attending a pornographic performance involving a child. Very importantly, attendance is defined in the Bill as including viewing a live feed by means of information and communication technology.
Everything I have seen, experienced and encountered in my career to date convinces me that this Bill is essential. As a former social worker, an advocate and campaigner for the rights of women, as a former Minister for Children, I am certain this bill is urgent, necessary and contains the right laws for these times. This Bill will protect victims of the most depraved crimes.
As well as legislative initiatives, my Department also provides financial support to organisations responding to sexual abuse such as One in Four through the Victims of Crime Office. Since 2006, almost €700,000 has been allocated to assist in its work, including an allocation of €87,000 this year, an increase of €14,000 on the funding provided in 2015. This reflected a general year-on-year increase in funding available for services to victims of crime.
I am conscious of the need to increase funding for services and I am pleased to advise that further funding is being made available in the 2017 budget of the Victims of Crime Office to further support the implementation of the Victims Directive [NOTE – Confirm on 11 October]. I intend to publish the Bill to transpose the Directive into Irish legislation in the current Dáil session.
Finally, let me congratulate you once again on your vital work and comprehensive report and wish you all the best for your endeavours in the years ahead.