Women who are sexually assaulted are more likely to take civil cases for damages following a landmark decision in the High Court this week, according to the director-general of the Law Society, Mr Ken Murphy.
In the case Ms Monica Reilly was awarded £140,000 damages plus costs - estimated at £150,000 - when a jury found she had been sexually assaulted by Mr William Bonny when she worked for him in his Dublin pub.
"This is a landmark decision in Irish law on sexual assault," said Mr Murphy yesterday. "No criminal proceedings were pursued because the DPP [Director of Public Prosecutions] believed the evidence was not available to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt. However, yesterday the court found a civil action could be proved on the balance of probability.
"Monica Reilly and her legal team showed great resourcefulness and courage in successfully bringing this action in view of the risk in relation to costs. It will rightly encourage other victims of sexual assault to seek justice through the courts for such disgraceful and unacceptable behaviour."
Ms Dorothy Morrissey, a spokeswoman for the National Network of Irish Rape Crisis Centres, said she also believed more women would be encouraged to bring civil cases for sexual assault. But she estimated only 10 per cent of women raped and sexually assaulted brought complaints to the Garda because of fears of how they would be treated in court.
However, the chairwoman of the National Women's Council, Ms Noreen Byrne, said women who were sexually assaulted at work wanted to be believed and wanted the assaults to stop and "usually compensation isn't a factor".
Sexual harassment at work, which includes sexual assault, is one of the main sources of complaint to the Employment Equality Agency. Last year the EEA's legal section received 123 complaints of sexual harassment.