Myths around serious sexual assaults must be removed, retired judge says

Many victims of serious sexual crime in Northern Ireland believed myths surrounding rape, a retired senior judge probing the issue said.

In some cases those attacked can blame themselves and issues like whether a woman's clothing could be considered provocative have also been raised in past court cases, Sir John Gillen noted.

His preliminary report called for better education surrounding the issue.

He said: "I found it really harrowing, sitting and listening to these complainants. I spent an hour-and-a-half with each of them.

"The saddest thing was that in many cases they bought into the rape myth.''

Often victims felt ashamed and wondered what they could have done differently.

Sir John added: "The refusal to accept that the victim is never ever to blame in any way, any shape or form, is something that not only does the public not seem to fully understand, in some instances, but even the victims, even the complainants.''

He said myths around rape should be robustly challenged.

"We need some radical rethinking of societal attitudes to sexual abuse in the wake of public campaigns.''

Severe physical and mental consequences are often suffered by the accused who have been cleared of serious sexual offences and they can face public opprobrium.

The retired judge did not favour changing the law to anonymise the identity of the accused after he or she has been charged in court.

The matter generated more controversy and division of opinion than any other in the Gillen review.

The status quo should be maintained because it brought forward other potential victims in institutional abuse or serial offender cases, the retired judge proposed.

Sir John's draft report said: "Such additional witnesses can be vital in a genre of crime where it is often a case of one person's word against another with little further evidence, where currently approximately 83% of complainants are not reporting to the police and where acquittal rates are already very high.''

He said it was difficult to justify making an exception anonymising those accused of serious sexual offences but not murder or unspeakable cruelty to children.

Sir John also suggested the public should be excluded from serious sex trials.

He said: "Confidence-building measures for complainants who fear the cruel glare of public exposure, particularly in high-profile trials in front of packed public galleries, are now vital.

"If we are to challenge the gross under-reporting, high dropout rates and an unacceptably daunting trial process, I consider the arguments in favour of restricted access measures carry convincing weight.''

The public is already excluded in the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand and Australia.

In Scotland onlookers are barred when the complainant gives evidence.

Other key draft recommendations from the recently retired Court of Appeal judge included creating new laws surrounding inappropriate use of social media, where the name of the alleged victim and even images may circulate and which in a small jurisdiction like Northern Ireland may seriously damage a person's anonymity

Geraldine Hanna, CEO of Victim Support NI, said “We recognise the significant efforts of the Gillen team in delivering this report, and recognise many of the issues it identifies from the conversations we have with victims of sexual violence.

Sir John has carefully listened to victims of sexual violence in the course of his review, and this has allowed him to make a series of recommendations which, if delivered, could vastly improve things for future victims and survivors who choose to engage with the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland.

We believe that bold structural reform of our justice system is now necessary. The current system is not fit for purpose when it comes to cases of sexual violence. There are many barriers to reporting, and for the estimated 15% of victims that do report, they face a wait of over 900 days for their case to reach court, and then, very low chances of achieving a conviction.

The Gillen review offers a milestone opportunity to create positive change, reduce delays, and deliver a system which is fair for all parties. Now is the time for the general public to speak up and speak out! It is the time for all of us to make our voices heard in order to help create a system which is fit for purpose in how it deals with sexual violence.

We would encourage everyone to make the time to read the recommendations at www.gillenreview.org and to engage with the Gillen review team and Victim Support NI during the consultation period which runs until January 15th.