A group of survivors of sexual and gender based violence are calling for the Justice Minister to “meaningfully” engage with their requests for change.
Rape survivor Paula Doyle said she has written to Jim O’Callaghan but has yet to receive a reply.
Ms Doyle is calling for the outlawing of the use of counselling and therapy notes in court cases.
The mother of five was raped in 2019 and said the process of bringing the case to court and seeing it through to the end was “traumatising”.
She said the use of her counselling notes during her attacker’s trial was horrendous and left her feeling further violated.
Ruth Coppinger and Natasha O'Brien as women take part in a solidarity demonstration in Dublin. Picture date: Monday November 25, 2024. AlamyMs Doyle is calling for urgent government action on the issue.
“He took my body that night, he left it like a piece of rubbish in the hedges,” she said.
“How perverse is it now that he has taken the time and he can read my notes and what I poured into my counselling sessions, my heart and my soul.
“It just felt like such a second violation but on a much, much deeper level and it's done to this day under the supervision of the Department of Justice.”
"A wall of misogyny"
Ms Doyle is amongst the campaigners backing a plan by People Before Profit TD Ruth Coppinger, which outlines key areas the Government need to change in order to improve the justice system.
Deputy Coppinger said she will present the 10 point action-plan to the Dáil next week.
“We need to make it possible for somebody to pursue a case to get justice and instead, people are greeted by a wall of misogyny from start to finish,” she said.
“They wait five years for their trial to come up and then they're faced with counselling notes, character references, rape myths, victim blaming and just so many barriers.”
Protesters with placards taking place today outside the GPO in Dublin in solidarity with Natasha O'Brien, 22/06/2024. Photo: Sasko Lazarov/© RollingNews.ieCampaigner Natasha O’Brien is accusing the Justice Department of promoting a culture of silence amongst victims of sexual and gender based violence.
Last month, former defence forces soldier Cathal Crotty, was jailed for two years for attacking Ms O’Brien in 2022.
Ms O’Brien says the process of bringing her case to court and the subsequent appeal by the DPP was “traumatising”.
“What I experienced that night [of the] attack, it was horrendous, but what I experienced in the justice system was more traumatising and will haunt me forever,” she said.
Ruth Coppinger speaks as Protesters with placards taking place today outside the GPO in Dublin in solidarity with Natasha O'Brien, 22/06/2024. Photo: Sasko Lazarov/© RollingNews.ieDeputy Coppinger's 10-point plan of action on Gender Based Violence - Dáil motion 26/2/25:
- Outlaw character references in cases of Gender Based Violence. They can retraumatise victims & sway judges to mitigate abuse.
- Protect privacy & the right to therapy - no access to counselling notes for defence legal team.
- Provide Advocates and representation for complainants in the court process.
- Compulsory training of the judiciary and juries regarding sexual and gender based violence. Outlaw rapes myths and victim blaming by defence lawyers in court cases.
- Invest and recruit court personnel so that nobody waits more than a year for a sexual assault or gender based violence case.
- Education programme in schools, colleges (and wider society) to challenge misogyny and gender violence.
- Introduce mechanism to recall and make accountable judges who make misogynistic and insensitive rulings.
- Introduce ‘Valerie Law’ to block any parental or inheritance rights for those who kill spouses.
- Femicide and intimate partner violence training for Gardaí.
- Introduce Domestic Violence Register / ‘Jennie’s Law’ to make available information about anyone with a conviction for domestic violence.
A woman holds up a poster during a vigil outside Belfast City Hall to mark the death of Chloe Mitchell and violence against women, © PA Wire/PA Images
