Donegal Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

MEN NEED TO FIND A VOICE AGAINST SEXUAL ASSAULTS ON WOMEN"- SINN FÉIN'S MC DAID

Published: 15 August, 2006

Sinn Féin Councillor Tony Mc Daid has this week repeated the call for men to find a voice in condemning the continuing sexual assaults and rape of women. Cllr Mc Daid's call comes in the wake of three alleged sexual assaults in Gweedore and Loch an luir on the August Bank Holiday weekend and in Lifford in the last few days.

Cllr Mc Daid said, " In August of last year I called for men to speak out against the flagrant abuse of women, and indeed men, through domestic violence, sexual assault and rape. That call was in response to statistics released in the Garda Siochana Annual Report 2004 indicating that a woman in Donegal had more chance of being subjected to a sex crime than having her belongings stolen from her car.
The Garda Annual Report for 2005 notes that there was a 30% reduction in the number of rapes being investigated and that is to be welcomed. However, the number of rape cases reported, 38 is still unacceptable. Even more regrettable and alarming is the fact that sexual assaults increased by 38% from the previous year.
It is widely acknowledged that a significant number of rapes and sexual assaults are not reported by victims as the legal system here is so victim-unfriendly, and this is not helped by some of the lenient sentences handed down by the courts. Take for example the sentence handed down earlier this year to a Co. Dublin man who was convicted of sexually assaulting a young student. The sitting Judge described the attack as "very frightening and which had a traumatic effect on the young woman's life." However, in accepting that the assailant had acted in an "aggressive and threatening manner" the Judge duly imposed a two- year sentence with the last twelve months suspended because his behaviour had been out of character!"

Cllr Mc Daid concluded, " There urgently needs to be a strategy developed to prevent further violent attacks on women, and indeed men as the number of men experiencing sexual assault and rape is also increasing. Part of that strategy needs to be men who are in positions of leadership whether in politics, sport, media, television or within the community to speak out with a strong voice against this form of abuse."