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07/10/2015
More Help Needed To Protect Children From Sexual Harm
Support group One in Four has said not nearly enough is being done to keep children safe from sexual harm.
The group made the call at the launch of its 2014 Annual report.
Executive Director Maeve Lewis said: "Ireland has a long way to go before we become a society where lives are not blighted by child sexual abuse. One in four Irish people experience sexual abuse. Most children do not tell.
"We have to rely on the testimony of adult survivors to get a true picture of child sexual abuse. But do we really encourage adults to come forward? Are their accounts taken seriously by child protection services when they report the person who abused them and is still active in the community?
"Have we a criminal justice system in place that forces sex offenders to account for their actions? The answer sadly is no."
In 2014, One in Four provided counselling to 116 survivors and to 43 families, a total of 2,643 therapy hours.
She continued: "We were very heartened when the new Child and Family Agency, Tusla, was set up in early 2014 and hoped that the response to historic allegations would improve.
"Despite policy and legislative developments, we still meet a child protection service in disarray, with inconsistent responses across the country and poor assessments of risk. We are also not always happy with the way anxious, distressed clients are treated by social workers."
(CD/JP)
The group made the call at the launch of its 2014 Annual report.
Executive Director Maeve Lewis said: "Ireland has a long way to go before we become a society where lives are not blighted by child sexual abuse. One in four Irish people experience sexual abuse. Most children do not tell.
"We have to rely on the testimony of adult survivors to get a true picture of child sexual abuse. But do we really encourage adults to come forward? Are their accounts taken seriously by child protection services when they report the person who abused them and is still active in the community?
"Have we a criminal justice system in place that forces sex offenders to account for their actions? The answer sadly is no."
In 2014, One in Four provided counselling to 116 survivors and to 43 families, a total of 2,643 therapy hours.
She continued: "We were very heartened when the new Child and Family Agency, Tusla, was set up in early 2014 and hoped that the response to historic allegations would improve.
"Despite policy and legislative developments, we still meet a child protection service in disarray, with inconsistent responses across the country and poor assessments of risk. We are also not always happy with the way anxious, distressed clients are treated by social workers."
(CD/JP)
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