Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 8 December 2004
9 Mr. Costello asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the new action he intends to take to deal with the problem of violence against women, particularly domestic violence and rape, and the alarming incidence of murder of women by spouses or partners; if he has satisfied himself that the gardaí are adequately equipped to deal with the problem of violence against women; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32607/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government places a very high priority on putting in place measures aimed at tackling crimes of domestic violence and other crimes of violence against women. The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, one of five Departments with responsibility in this area, is responsible for legislative initiatives; preventative measures that can be put in place, such as intervention programmes for perpetrators of domestic violence; awareness raising measures aimed at changing society's attitude to domestic violence; and identifying and developing necessary responses from the civil and criminal justice systems.
Moreover, the Department co-ordinates the work of the National Steering Committee on Violence Against Women, which is chaired by Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Fahey. The national steering committee is comprised of representatives of the Departments with responsibility for this issue, the non-governmental organisations working on this issue, the Garda Síochána, the Courts Service, the probation and welfare service, health boards and the medical and legal professions.
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. In 92% of the cases, the complainant was female. In 2003, this fell to 8,452 or a reduction of 17.5% and in 93% of cases, the complainant was female. In the case of reported incidents of the heinous crime of rape, there was a reduction of 25.5% between 2002 and 2003. In the case of reported incidents of sexual assault, the number in 2002 was 1,626 and by 2003, this fell to 1,449. These reductions are a very welcome development but the Minister cautions against forming conclusive views on the basis of one year's figures.
Provisional Garda figures for the period January to September of this year show a similar picture for sexual assault. These figures indicate a decrease of 25% compared to reported incidents in the same period in 2003.
Rape, however, gives cause for concern. Provisional figures indicate that an additional 31 cases of rape were reported to the Garda between January and September 2004 compared to the same period in 2003.
The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, on behalf of the National Steering Committee on Violence Against Women, has conducted a number of awareness raising campaigns around the various aspects of violence against women in recent years. Recent awareness campaigns have included a poster campaign on domestic violence which was conducted in 2003 and a campaign in 2002 aimed at highlighting the dangers of drug assisted rape. This 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, the Department has provided funding to a number of rape crisis centres to deliver an awareness programme in schools in their locality.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
The Department, in conjunction with the committee, is developing a national television and radio advertising campaign on domestic violence which will be conducted jointly with Northern Ireland in the new year.
The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has recently provided joint funding for comprehensive research into attrition rates in rape cases. The research, entitled 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 Rape Crisis Network Ireland. This research should provide a greater understanding of why some victims choose not to report cases to the Garda, what can be done about under-reporting 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 — this year its budget exceeds €1 billion and next year it will further increase 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. It also 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. This policy is currently being reviewed.
In addition, all gardaí receive training on the investigation of cases of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault. This training is provided by experienced Garda personnel assisted by other professionals, such as psychologists, doctors, social workers and experts from the various non-governmental organisations.
There is close co-operation by the Garda Síochána with other organisations 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 and all of this will improve the overall monitoring of domestic violence cases.
While the Minister of State says that high priority is being given by the Department to dealing with violence against women, the figures show the opposite. Women's Aid has stated that there has been no increase in the funding for its services since 2002 and it was not happy with the recent budget. It was unable to deal with 52% of the increase in the number of calls it received last year. There were 15,717 calls to the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre last year, a huge number, but no additional funding has been provided since 2002.
Women's Aid protested outside the Dáil last week against domestic violence, highlighting that 107 women have been murdered in the past 108 months, 80% by someone known and 50% by a partner. The protest will continue until International Women's Day on 10 December.
The Minister of State was selective with his figures. Sexual assault increased in the first nine months of 2004 by 40% and unlawful carnal knowledge increased by 173%, figures given by the Minister. There were 8,452 incidents of domestic violence in 2003 — 90% of the offenders were men — and 1,700 women and 2,889 children were accommodated in refuges for women escaping from the home because of violence. There were 1,083 who could not find a place in a refuge and because of the savage 16 cuts by the Department of Social and Family Affairs they were not entitled to get accommodation. I hope the Minister of State can assure the House that the nefarious cut has been rescinded because these are women and children who could not get into refuges due to the lack of accommodation and they could not apply for landlord accommodation as they had to be homeless for a period of six months. Will the Minister of State give an undertaking that funding will be granted over and above what has been provided to date? Women's Aid has stated that there has been no increase in funding since 2002. Is that accurate? Will the seven-day national free phone helpline that Women's Aid employs be adequately funded to deal with queries rather than being unable to deal with 52% of queries due to lack of resources?
The whole question of funding is the responsibility of various Departments. For example, it is important to bear in mind that different Departments have different responsibilities in regard to this issue.
Let us refer to the organisations providing the service, the Rape Crisis Centre, Women's Aid and hostels.
The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform is responsible for necessary legislative changes in the area of violence against women and for dealing with perpetrators through the criminal justice system. It has established perpetrator programmes, sponsored research on issues of domestic violence and other forms of violence against women and conducts awareness campaigns. The Department provides a secretariat to the national steering committee. The Department of Health and Children is responsible for the provision of health and social services for the victims of violence, including domestic violence, rape and sexual assault, through the relevant health boards. In the main, these services are provided by non-governmental organisations such as Women's Aid, the Rape Crisis Centre and the women's refuges. Funding for these bodies is not the responsibility of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform but that of his colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children.
Equally the whole question of rent supplement is a matter for the Minister for Social and Family Affairs. There are distinct responsibilities in regard to this matter. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is aware of the need to reduce the incidence of this crime and has put specific measures in place to prevent or reduce the number of incidents of domestic violence.
In recent years the Department has supported the establishment of a number of intervention programmes for perpetrators. These include Move Ireland, which operates 11 programmes nationally, the south-east domestic violence intervention project, which operates four programmes in the region, the national domestic violence intervention agency which operates on a pilot basis in the Dún Laoghaire and Bray District Court areas. The Department has arranged for all these programmes to be independently evaluated. It is hoped this evaluation will identify best practice for the operation of programmes for perpetrators and will lead to further improvements. The Department has arranged for a number of awareness raising campaigns on domestic violence with the national steering committee on violence against women. A television and radio advertising campaign is being developed and will be conducted jointly with Northern Ireland in the new year. I am glad to report some progress——
Will the Minister of State accept there is a crisis in the area of domestic violence in the home given the number of calls to the national helpline — 18,902 in 2003 and 15,717 to the Rape Crisis Centre in the same year — and that it is virtually impossible to get a doctor to a Garda station where a rape has been reported? What is being done to deal with these extraordinarily serious incidents of violence against women?
Human nature being what it is, we always have to be vigilant on this topic. I have outlined the many initiatives the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has taken in this area. The specific issue raised by the Deputy is the provision of general practitioner services to the victims of such incidents at Garda stations.
The Garda stations cannot get them.
The Minister's colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children, has announced a specific initiative for improvements in the general practitioners service on the north side of Dublin.
