Children's charity CARI (Children at Risk in Ireland) has called for an overhaul of the legal process used to try child sexual abuse cases. Robin O'Brien Lynch reports.
At the launch of its annual report yesterday, CARI's national clinical director, Mr Alan Corbett, highlighted the difficulties in bringing these cases to trial.
"The Irish legal system continues to place obstacles in the path of recovery and healing," he said.
"That day in court which the victim so badly needs will most likely not be given to you.
"If the case does proceed, the very nature of the adversarial system means that the child and the family have to relive the trauma all over again."
Mr Corbett said he would favour an inquisitorial system, where specially trained judiciary would take on an amalgamation of Garda and judicial powers.
"This would involve the judge or magistrate investigating the case personally, through interviews, correspondence and perhaps a pre-trial hearing."
CARI's national director, Ms Mary Flaherty, said children made less compelling witnesses than adults and often had communication problems, particularly those with severe learning difficulties.
"Their evidence just won't stand up to questioning under the current system," she said.
"If the defendant is held to be innocent, then by extension the child making the statement is held to be lying.
"It takes a lot of courage for victims to come forward, and if they feel they aren't being believed it makes it all the harder for them."
A study looking at alternative systems in Spain and the Netherlands showed Ireland had the lowest number of cases brought to court, and of successful prosecutions, "say 9 and 3 per cent respectively compared to high 20s on the Continent".
Under the present system, cases have to be examined by the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, who then decides whether there is sufficient evidence for the case to go ahead.
The DPP, Mr James Hamilton, told The Irish Times that he believed that introducing a special court for child abuse cases with an inquisitorial system would represent a radical change within the legal process.
"Anybody who wished to propose such a system would need to answer a lot of questions as to how exactly it would work, and set out in detail the process it would follow," he said yesterday.
"The devil is in the detail in proposals like this. For example, sexual abuse cases often require extensive forensic work, and it would have to be clear who would be in charge of that.
"Plus it would have to be clear as to the scope of the court. How would the judge distinguish which cases would be heard and which would not?
"I would be interested to see just how effective the system used in continental Europe is compared to our own.
"I do see one advantage in that under such a system, it is likely that even if the case didn't come to trial, there would be some sort of a hearing involved with the judge. This would probably give some satisfaction to the child and the family," Mr Hamilton said.
The CARI helpline, 1890 924567 or helpline@cari.ie, is open from Monday to Friday from 9.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.