Cian O'Callaghan
Question:631. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice if the stillhere.ie website and resources will be provided in other languages; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3852/21]
View answerWednesday, 27 January 2021
Questions (631)
Written answers
I wish to advise the Deputy that tackling domestic abuse and supporting victims is a key priority for the Department of Justice and for the Government as a whole. This is true in terms of commitments and additional resources made available during the pandemic as well working collectively to put in place a comprehensive range of supports and services to meet the needs of victims of domestic abuse.
In October last year, I published Supporting A Victims Journey - A plan to help victims and vulnerable witnesses in sexual violence cases, which is a detailed roadmap for the implementation of the recommendations contained in the O'Malley review. A key action of the plan is to increase public awareness of the rights of victims of crime, and of the supports and services available to them. This will be done through the promotion of the Victims Charter, including by the redesign of the Victims Charter website, which will be launched shortly, and the translation of printed material, developed to promote the Charter, into Irish and a number of other major languages, which will be delivered in Q2 of this year.
The ‘Still Here’ awareness campaign was designed and launched by the Department of Justice last March, to ensure those at risk of domestic abuse throughout the pandemic were aware that supports remain available regardless of the level of restrictions in place. The campaign was launched in partnership with the NGO sector and consists of one TV ad, two radio ads and the campaign website. It does not include any printed resources that can be translated into other languages.
The 'Still Here' website, which is accessible from the Victims Charter website, has not been translated into other languages and there are currently no plans to do so. However, as outlined above, the work to implement the O’Malley recommendations will include information relevant to victims of domestic abuse and will be translated into a number of other major languages.