JUSTICE MINISTER Charlie Flanagan has proposed a new report on sexual violence in Ireland.
Plans for a second Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland (SAVI) study were announced by the minister at the Fine Gael Ard Fheis this morning.
Minister Flanagan said he will bring proposals to cabinet before the end of the month and hopes the study will begin next year.
Starting the day @ #FGAF18 by outlining the Justice priorities in ‘Taking Ireland Forward Together’. I was asked about rape trials & made very clear: clothes are not responsible for rape, rapists are. We are taking strong action to tackle the horrendous crime of sexual assault pic.twitter.com/EBIO4WLYuV
— Charlie Flanagan (@CharlieFlanagan) 17 November 2018
Should it gain cabinet approval, the study is estimated to take two years and cost €1million.
The first SAVI report, published in 2002, was described by the Dublin Race Crisis Centre as a ‘landmark national study of Irish experiences, beliefs and attitudes concerning sexual violence’.
Rape trial
The minister’s proposals follow an outcry over the use of a teenage girl’s lace thong as evidence of consent in a recent rape trial in Co. Cork.
When asked about the case today, Minister Flanagan said: “Clothes don't rape women, rapists rape women.
“I think it is important that the criminal justice system responds in a way that ensures that complaints of sexual assault and sexual violence are followed through on.”
I hear cameras cut away from me when I displayed this underwear in #Dáil. In courts victims can have their underwear passed around as evidence and it's within the rules, hence need to display in Dáil. Join protests tomorrow. In Dublin it's at Spire, 1pm.#dubw #ThisIsNotConsent pic.twitter.com/DvtaJL61qR
— Ruth Coppinger TD (@RuthCoppingerTD) 13 November 2018
Following the Cork case, in which the 27-year-old man was found not guilty, Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger held up similar underwear in the Dáil this week, asking: “How do you think a rape victim feels?”
Meanwhile protests took place throughout the country and campaigners posted pictures of their underwear on social media with the hashtag #ThisIsNotConsent
