Two prosecutions arising from sex attacks last year will not be proceeding because there is no sexual assault medical unit available in the midwest region. The revelation comes amid renewed calls yesterday for a specialist unit for the area.
This follows figures released yesterday by the Health Service Executive (HSE) showing a 33 per cent increase last year in the number of sex assaults in the region on the corresponding 2003 figure.
Rape victims from the region face the often traumatic journey to Cork for a forensic examination in the aftermath of an attack due to the absence of a unit in the Limerick/Clare/Tipperary area.
As a result, the Limerick Rape Crisis Centre confirmed yesterday that two prosecutions arising from alleged sex attacks last year will not proceed because the women involved refused to make the journey to Cork for a forensic examination after the incident.
A unit was approved by the Mid-Western Health Board three years ago and it was to be financed on a 50-50 basis between the health board and the Department of Health.
However, the department refused to fund the project and the HSE Mid-Western Area is now making a renewed bid for funding.
This comes against the background of a large increase in sex assaults in the midwest last year.
Figures from the HSE last year show there was a 33 per cent increase in sex assaults, with 46 attacks taking place compared to the 2003 figure of 33.
The highest proportion of victims are from Limerick city and county, at 25, while 14 came from Clare and seven from Tipperary.
Ingrid Wallace, counsellor with the Limerick Rape Crisis Centre, said: "The lack of a unit for victims of sex assaults in the midwest remains unacceptable.
"Last year we had two women who reported sex assaults to us, but were not prepared to make the journey to Cork.
"They found it too stressful."
The initiative to have a unit in place appears to have reached stalemate, according to Ms Wallace. "On the ground, things haven't changed and victims are still going to Cork.
"The first thing a woman wants to do after being attacked is to shower and change clothes, but the stress of going to Cork in the back of a squad car just adds to the trauma."
She added that recent figures showed that only 20 per cent of sex assault victims reported attacks to gardaí.
"This would be lower in the midwest and I believe the trip to Cork in the aftermath of an attack is definitely a factor." The rise in sex assaults in the region last year made the provision of a unit even more urgent, she said.
The HSE Mid-Western Area is drafting a revised proposal to the department.
A spokesman said yesterday: "Ongoing discussions continue between constituent agencies to ensure all the components are in place in order to offer this service."
A stumbling block for a number of years was the failure of GPs in the region to support the provision of a sex assault unit, while there are documented cases where GPs inexperienced in forensic examinations and court testimony have been a critical factor in unsuccessful prosecutions.
However, according to a HSE document released through the Freedom of Information Act on the provision of a service in the midwest, there are currently four GPs interested in carrying out forensic medical examinations for sex assault victims
A number of GPs involved in the ShannonDoc medical service are open to facilitating the unit.
