Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 November 2018
444. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the timeline for the roll-out of a second sexual abuse and violence in Ireland, SAVI, report; if the Cabinet has seen the recommendations of the expert scoping group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45793/18]
View answerThis Government is committed to preventing and addressing sexual violence in Ireland. It is extremely important to Government but, more importantly, to victims of this violence, that policy must be effective and driven by accurate, up to date, reliable data. Knowledge and information are essential to making effective policies to prevent and combat sexual violence.
The Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland (SAVI) report was formative research in this area and its results had a significant impact on policy; both at the time of its publication in 2002 and since then.
As the Deputy is aware, the expert Scoping Group has completed a draft report considering the availability of data and making recommendations on a study to identify the prevalence of, and emerging trends in relation to, sexual abuse and violence in Ireland. A further piece of technical work is now being completed so that proposals can be brought to Cabinet in the coming weeks.
Given the need to resolve the technical matters before bringing the matter to Cabinet, the Cabinet has not yet considered the recommendations of the expert Scoping Group. Until such a time as the Cabinet considers the report of the Scoping Group along with the deliberations on technical matters it is not yet possible to specify timelines for the roll out of any sexual violence survey. However, I can assure the Deputy that once the report has been considered by Government, I will make an announcement to outline the way forward in relation to this issue.
