The law should be changed to ensure access to rape victims’ counselling notes during court cases comes to an end, according to the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre.
The group made the comment after the Central Criminal Court heard that a woman who was raped by her former partner said she did not receive any counselling because she thought the notes from the sessions would be used against her.
Susan Lynch said she regretted not receiving any support following rapes perpetrated on her by Paul Arthur, of Conwal, Letterkenny, Co Donegal, causing her to leave her home with her two children.
Mr Arthur (59) was jailed on Friday for 10 years after being found guilty by a jury of two counts of anal rape and one count of vaginal rape of Ms Lynch.
Rachel Morrogh, chief executive of Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, said that when it comes to accessing justice, victims already face significant challenges before reporting offences.
“We believe that the possibility of having counselling records disclosed to alleged perpetrators can seriously undermine victims’ willingness to come forward and make criminal complaints,” she said.
“In fact, the request for counselling notes is surely one of the most dreaded and cruelest points on a victim’s journey to justice. It can also affect a person’s healing if they feel the need to hold back in their counselling sessions.”
In a country where research indicates that only 2 per cent of women and men who have experienced sexual violence as an adult make a report to the Garda, Ms Morrogh said “everything that can be done to encourage victims into the justice system needs to be done”, including taking action to amend the law that covers access to counselling notes.
She welcomed a commitment to amending the law in the new Programme for Government.
While efforts were made to make the law more victim-centred through the introduction of other amendments, “its intention has not been felt in practice by survivors of sexual violence,” she said.
Reading a victim impact to the Central Criminal Court on Friday, Susan Lynch said she regretted not receiving any counselling following rapes perpetrated on her by Paul Arthur, causing her to leave her home with her two children.
At the Central Criminal Court on Friday, Ms Lynch waived her legal right to anonymity to allow her former partner of 14 years to be named.
Mr Justice Patrick McGrath paid tribute to Ms Lynch’s “powerful” victim impact statement, which he said described “the very serious effect this has had on her”.
He noted it was a serious breach of trust – and a repeated breach of trust – by a man against his long-term partner.
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