Press Release: DRCC welcomes the publication of the joint Commitee on Justice, Defence and Equality’s report

Hearings in relation to Domestic and Sexual Violence

Ellen O’Malley-Dunlop, CEO of the DRCC said: There is a lot to welcome in this report. Among the welcome recommendations are:

• Changes in  the Law and Criminal Sanctions with regard to Domestic Violence,
• the codification of the law governing sexual offences into a single act,
• the maintaining of the age of consent at 17,
• a definition of consent
• the criminalisation of the purchaser of sexual services.

There were further recommendations with regard to the provision of the necessary services to protect and respond to the needs of victims of domestic and sexual violence. And also very welcome are the recommendations for the prevention of these crimes by the provision of Education and Training from schools through to all who come in contact with victims across the Health and Criminal Justice System.

Organisations and NGOs representing the victims of these crimes and individual victims told their stories to the Joint Committee and we commend the committee for its very important work first and foremost in listening and secondly in producing this report. The next step is an all important step and that is the implementation of these recommendations.

We look forward to the Minister for Justice and Equality Frances Fitzgerald’s commitment to publishing the Draft Sexual Offences Bill at the end of this year as a big first step.

ENDS