Last year, the Central Statistics Office uncovered alarming data in their 2022 Sexual Violence Survey. It was reported that 40% of adults had experienced some form of sexual violence in their lives, with a disproportionate figure showing that women were twice as likely to be victims compared to men.
Sexual Assault Treatment Unit services’ national clinical lead in Ireland, Prof Maeve Eogan, who also holds posts as an obstetrician and gynaecologist at Dublin’s Rotunda Hospital, emphasised the ubiquity of sexual violence, as quantified by the CSO survey. Prof Eogan firmly believes that these high rates of incidents ought to stimulate society-level acknowledgment.
Not only should there be responses to those seeking aid, Prof Eogan advises, but significant discussions on the topic within schools, sports organisations, and workplaces are also vital. Such candid discussions will culminate in greater self-assuredness amongst victims, helping them disclose their stories and utilise available support structures.
In addition, Prof Eogan stresses that any past or ongoing experiences of sexual violence can affect how patients interact with healthcare systems. The trauma from such incidents can reverberate for several years, altering their reactions to varying medical procedures and interventions.
Aideen Walsh, who manages the paediatric forensic medical unit at Children’s Health Ireland at Tallaght University Hospital, underscores an upward trend in youth reporting cases of sexual harm inflicted by peers. Blurring lines between explorative play and sexual harm pose critical concerns, particularly if the instigator falls below the criminal age.
Walsh expands the definition of sexual violence beyond rape or contact sexual assault to include non-consensual touching and misunderstanding of consent. To this, Prof Eogan chimes in, enlightening us on consent-related misconceptions. It’s not uncommon for people not to realise their right to refuse. Furthermore, consent isn’t a blanket permission; it must be continuous, mutual, and freely given; if consent was granted previously, it doesn’t imply perpetual consent.
According to Tusla, the family and child agency, General Practitioners and hospital emergency department staff are required to report instances of sexual violence against minors. Tusla is subsequently responsible for conducting safety evaluations and determining if a visit to a paediatric forensic medical department is warranted. Eogan underscores the importance of acknowledging and condemning any inappropriate conduct observed, a key component of many contemporary training programmes that focus on ‘bystander’ interventions.
According to Dr Daniel Kane, a forensic medical examiner at the sexual assault treatment unit in the Rotunda, approximately 15-20% of individuals presenting for immediate care at a sexual abuse treatment unit are uncertain if they have been victimised. This confusion may stem from a loss of memory associated with voluntary or involuntary substance use, or a need to clarify the events, particularly if they are unsure if their experience qualifies as a sexual crime. Tragically, many young women tend not to report sexual violence inflicted by men they are acquainted with, even if they disclose the incident to their friends.
Dr Kane stresses that experiencing such trauma can be life-altering and that compassionate care is paramount. These health expert comments were shared during an event that honoured the late Dr Moira Woods. Dr Woods pioneered the establishment of the first sexual assault treatment unit in Europe at the Rotunda Hospital in 1985. Intended to aid abused adult women, it quickly became a refuge for adolescents and children, often referred by educators, social workers, and parents during a period when sexual abuse was a hidden stain on Irish society.
Eogan reports that, in its initial six months, the facility served 129 individuals, many of whom were below the age of 16, with new cases of sexual abuse emerging daily. Today, Ireland boasts of six such units. Eogan shares that their aim is for no one to be beyond a three-hour reach of a unit. She also emphasises their commitment to ensuring that 90% of individuals requiring a forensic examination are seen within three hours of a request.
Operating round-the-clock and seven days a week, sexual assault units are situated and attended to in cities such as Letterkenny, Cork, Waterford, Galway and Mullingar and a smaller service in Limerick for out of hours emergencies. Dublin, Galway and Cork offer specialised services for children falling prey to sexual assault, available free of charge and treated with the utmost confidentiality.
These services were established in 1985 with the aim of conducting medical examination and care for sexual assault victims, providing a conducive setting for counselling and medical assessment, along with mitigating the grueling aspects of judicial procedures, even though the latter is still a work in progress, according to Eogan. Those eager to learn more about the devastating retraumatisation inflicted on victims by the justice system might wish to read Sarah Grace’s book Ash+Salt: From Survival to Empowerment after Sexual Assault or watch her recent feature on the Tommy Tiernan Show.
Eogan emphasises the significance of making victims understand that they are not alone and that their concerns and experience are attended to compassionately by the Rape Crisis Centre. The understanding that victims have somebody who hears and takes them seriously, and provides them with a clinical examination aiding in detection and prosecution is essential.
The Rape Crisis Centre extends emotional support and consultative services to victims of sexual assault, even sending trained volunteers with them to the treatment units if requested. They also facilitate a 24/7 national freephone hotline with the number 1800-778888. The victim has the choice of undergoing a clinical examination with accompanying evidence for later court proceedings, with or without the involvement of An Garda. Such examinations ideally are executed within 72 hours from the incident but can go on till a week later. Persons seeking help also have the option merely for a health assessment, along with services like emergency contraception and prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases.
In 2023, a major sexual assault treatment centre in Ireland was visited by over a thousand individuals seeking assistance, with nearly half of them confiding their ordeal of sexual aggression, for the first time to the Irish police. It was noted that approximately 90% of those individuals were women, and more than half were under the age of 25.
Walsh commented on the tendency of children to hold back from revealing occurrences of sexual maltreatment. He shared that roughly a fifth of their cases come to them for a formal forensic investigation. Meanwhile, the other 80% consist of examinations that are not of an urgent nature. Different forms of therapy, along with collective activities for adolescents and their parents, comprise part of the assistance provided to young people.