Aengus Ó Snodaigh
Question:289 Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his plans to reduce domestic and sexual violence in the State during the lifetime of the 29th Dáil. [2829/05]
View answerTuesday, 1 February 2005
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Written answers
The Government places a high priority on putting into place measures aimed at tackling crimes of domestic violence, rape, sexual assault and other crimes of violence against women. My Department, which is one of five Departments with responsibilities in this area, plays a major role. It has responsibility for legislative initiatives, preventative measures such as intervention programmes for perpetrators of domestic violence, awareness-raising measures aimed at changing society's attitude to domestic violence and the identifying and developing of necessary responses from the civil and criminal justice systems. Moreover, my Department co-ordinates the work of the national steering committee on violence against women, which is chaired by the Minister of State, Deputy Fahey. The steering committee comprises representatives of the Departments with responsibility for the issue, non-governmental organisations working in the area, the Garda Síochána, the Courts Service, the probation and welfare service, health boards and the medical and legal professions.
It is important to record that the number of incidents of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault reported to the Garda in 2003 — the last full year for which figures are available — show a significant reduction when compared to the recorded incidents of these crimes in 2002. For example, in 2002 there were 10,248 reported incidents of domestic violence while in 2003 this number fell to 8,452, representing a reduction of 17.5%. Between 2002 and 2003, there was a reduction of 25.5% in reported incidents of the heinous crime of rape. In the case of reported incidents of sexual assault, the number in 2002 was 1,626, a number which fell to 1,449 by 2003. While the reductions are a very welcome development, they are of little consolation to the victims of these crimes. The Garda will continue to attach a very high priority to the prevention and detection of all domestic violence and sexual offence related crime.
The Deputy will be aware that provisional crime figures for 2004 were released last week. The provisional figures indicate a further decrease of 28% in the number of sexual assaults reported in 2004 compared to reported incidents in 2003. However, rape is the one area which gives cause for concern as the provisional figures for 2004 indicate an increase of 21% in the number of cases reported to the Garda. My Department, on behalf of the national steering committee on violence against women, has conducted a number of awareness raising campaigns on the various aspects of violence against women in recent years. Recent awareness campaigns have included a poster campaign on domestic violence in 2003 and a campaign in 2002 aimed at highlighting the dangers of drug-assisted rape. The 2002 campaign involved the development of a series of posters which were displayed in pubs, clubs and third level colleges around the country. Follow-up campaigns were undertaken in third level colleges in 2003 and 2004. In addition, my Department has provided funding to a number of rape-crisis centres to deliver an awareness raising programme in schools in their locality.
My Department, in conjunction with the steering committee, is developing a national television and radio advertising campaign on domestic violence which will be conducted jointly with the Northern Ireland authorities later this month. My Department is funding a number of initiatives aimed at preventing, where possible, further incidents of domestic violence. Funding has been provided for the development of 15 intervention programmes for perpetrators of domestic violence run by MOVE Ireland — Men Overcoming Violent Emotions — and the south-east domestic violence intervention programme. In addition, my Department has provided funding for a domestic violence intervention project on a pilot basis in the Dún Laoghaire and Bray District Court areas. The project arose from research funded by my Department into the development of an intervention model and is based on similar projects operating successfully in other jurisdictions, particularly in Duluth in Minnesota. The agency aims to co-ordinate the work of relevant agencies such as the Garda and the courts with a programme for perpetrators of domestic violence and support services for victims.
My Department commissioned an independent evaluation of all intervention programmes for perpetrators of domestic violence for which it has provided funding. The evaluation report has recently been received in the Department and is expected to be published shortly. The Deputy may also be interested to know that my Department has recently provided joint funding for comprehensive research into attrition rates in rape cases. The research on the understanding of attrition, early withdrawal, the trial process and identifying possible changes to support complainants in rape cases is being carried out by the department of law at the National University of Ireland, Galway, and the Rape Crisis Network Ireland. The research should provide a greater understanding of why some victims choose not to report cases to the Garda, what can be done about underreporting and why of the cases that are reported only a relatively small percentage result in a court hearing.
The Garda Síochána has never been better resourced or equipped to tackle criminal behaviour in all its manifestations. This year, the force's budget has increased to over €1.1 billion. The Garda Síochána thoroughly investigates all complaints of rape and ensures that victims are dealt with in a professional manner. The Garda monitors all incidents of domestic violence on a daily basis. Designated inspectors are allocated to each Garda division to ensure that the Garda domestic violence policy is implemented. In addition, all gardaí receive training on the investigation of cases of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault. The training is provided by experienced Garda personnel assisted by other professionals such as psychologists, doctors, social workers and experts from various non-governmental organisations.
There is close co-operation by the Garda Síochána with other organisation involved in this area including non-governmental organisations. The Garda Síochána continues to make efforts to combat incidents of rape through education, increased awareness and enforcement of the relevant legislation. Recording systems for all domestic violence incidents are being integrated into the PULSE computer system to improve the overall monitoring of domestic violence cases.