Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has said new changes planned to improve victims’ experiences of the criminal justice system are about ensuring people know their rights so they can give better evidence.
The reforms are included in a new strategy for sexual violence cases to be published by the Minister. The strategy will ensure victims are represented in the court when past sexual history is examined.
Ms McEntee said a large part of the strategy, called Supporting A Victim's Journey: A Plan to Help Victims and Vulnerable Witnesses in Sexual Violence Cases, will be around the education of those in the justice system. “We want victims to not just have confidence in the justice system but also in the people who work within it.”
Later on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland, Ms McEntee said under the new strategy, which she described as "a live document", there was very clear guidance about what could and could not be asked in a court case.
Currently, where a defence essentially wants to raise the complainant's sexual history, legal teams must flag this to the judge early on in a pre-trial hearing, and the judge decides whether or not they will allow it.
This is the only part of the trial where a complainant would have additional legal support at the same level as the defence, for example: senior counsel, but only for that finite period of the trial.
Ms McEntee said the implementation plan is "taking a much more holistic approach" to victims, which includes counselling and training for gardaí, legal services teams and judiciary.
"What we're not changing here is giving a witness, the person who was the victim of the crime, their own separate legal representation and that's because you already have the prosecution and you already have defence," she said.
"This is to try and support that vulnerable person in particular when it comes to very difficult discussions that they may have or questions that may be raised whether it's around their past or around their sexual history which are questions that do arise in these incidents.
Founder and head of the sexual violence department of the Victims Alliance, Linda Hayden, said: “The announcement of these measures is a great step forward, however there are more things we would like to see, like legal representation for victims in court, minimum mandatory staffing hours for DPSU units and establishment of a Victim’s Commissioner similar to what is in place in the UK.
"There is more work to be done to ensure that victims are at the heart of everything the justice system does, but this is a great starting point and the levels of investment and training that have been committed to, should ensure a solid base for this work.”
