Weaknesses in Ireland’s legal system so distresses survivors of domestic and/or sexual violence that they pull out of proceedings, according to a joint report for the Department of Justice and National Women’s Council.
The key problems are an absence of comprehensive court and non-court support for victims; a lack of understanding of victims’ realities; cases delayed; and the court’s environment.
Based on interviews with survivors and their support helpers, an upsetting experience at any stage so traumatises victims that they withdraw from the whole process to protect themselves, the report’s authors wrote.
Among failings they highlighted was survivor-victims being disbelieved. “The questions asked by numerous professionals failed, we heard, to even begin to grasp the insidious nature of the coercive control that often underlies domestic and/or sexual violence in the home,” the report noted.
Among the authors’ recommendations are: improved training for the judiciary, lawyers and police officers; avoiding delays in the justice system; more collaboration at the evidence-gathering stage; development of collaborative processes in court; and making courts’ physical environment more victim friendly.
The document is entitled: A Report on the Intersection of the Criminal Justice, Private Family Law and Public Law Child Care Processes in Relation to Domestic and Sexual Violence.
