RAPE CRISIS CENTRE FURY AT GOVERNMENT

RAPE CRISIS & SEXUAL ABUSE CENTRE
OFFICIAL STATEMENT
28.01.08

The RCC today criticised the Department of Health & Social Services’ decision to fund the anti-abortion organisation LIFE.

Eileen Calder, Co-Director of the charity said: “This organisation describes itself as “inter-denominational”, it is clearly a religious group with a fundamentalist anti-choice ideology.

The DHSS should not be funding religious organisations to extend their propaganda, especially one who would force survivors of rape to give birth to the children of their abusers.

LIFE say they see 700 women a year – the RCC receives 3000 calls a year and yet the DHSS withdrew our funding.


If women want religious indoctrination dressed up as counselling – there is an over-abundance of churches available.

It is incredible that LIFE have the audacity to use the word “counselling” in relation to its work – this implies that their clients have choices – that is not the case.

LIFE have a history of trying to prevent women from making informed choices about unwanted pregnancy and have even criticised the use of the Morning After Pill and of IUD’s.

The RCC would defend the right of LIFE to put forward their moral beliefs to the public but the DHSS should be paying for the propaganda.

It is time women in Northern Ireland had equal access to health care as the rest of the female citizens of the United Kingdom and that the 1967 abortion act was extended to Northern Ireland.

EDITOR’S NOTES

• This statement is a response to a story in today’s Irish News, page 4, headline – Pro-life family planning body to get £78,000 grant.
• The Rape Crisis & Sexual Abuse Centre have campaigned for over 20 years for PRO-CHOICE, the ability for women in Northern Ireland to make their own decisions about abortion.
• The Rape Crisis & Sexual Abuse Centre had their government funding withdrawn for over two years and now survives on fundraising and the generosity of the public.

One rape daily on an Ulster woman & sex assaults double, shock figures reveal

BELFAST TELEGRAPH
www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

By Linda McKee

At least one woman is raped every day in Northern Ireland, disturbing new figures have revealed.

The number of rapes or attempted rapes has doubled in the Province over the last five years, Security Minister Paul Goggins said in a written response to a Parliamentary question by North Belfast MP Nigel Dodds.

The minister outlined the number of rapes, prosecutions and convictions for rape incidents since 2001, revealing the highest number of attacks recorded came in 2006/07 at 457.

The shocking figures showed that the number of recorded rapes has risen by almost 60% in five years, while the number of convictions has remained steady at around 3%.

Mr Dodds said: "The answer to this question is quite simply disturbing. The figure indicates that in 2006/07 there were 457 incidents across Northern Ireland involving rape or an attempted rape. "This is over one per day and we must begin to question here society is going. In 2001/02 there were 292 reported incidents yet today the number of incidents has risen by almost 60%.

"There are a number of factors which must be addressed, chiefly the confidence which victims can have in the justice system. Rape is a most serious crime and should be treated as such by the law.

"For far too long, the criminal justice system has been seen to be more concerned with the rights of the perpetrator than either he victim or the ordinary law abiding citizen.

"The horrific murder of Attracta Harron by an individual who was on parole after having raped another woman is still very fresh in the minds of the people of Northern Ireland and is a stark reminder to us all as to exactly how skewed the criminal justice system can be."

Mr Dodds said the news that the legal system is being restructured for dealing with sex-related crime so that public confidence can be improved suggests the Government has recognised the current system is failing victims.

Julieanne Boyle (35), whose father got seven months in jail after he raped her when she was 11, has called for tougher entencing.

Julieanne, who helps victims at the Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre, said: "I have been a victim of rape all my life and I will have to live with it forever.

"We want a system that gives perpetrators tougher sentences. We want them to get rid of 50% remission that automatically halves sentences."

A PSNI spokeswoman said: "A review has taken place into how police investigate rape. Police accept there is a shortfall and a need for improvement in this difficult and sensitive area."

50% rise in rapes over six years

BBC.CO.UK / Northern Ireland

There has been a 50% increase in rapes in Northern Ireland over the past six years, according to government figures.

There were more than 450 reported or attempted rapes last year.

The highest figure was in Foyle where 40 assaults were reported last year, whilst 39 incidents were reported in south Belfast.

DUP assembly member for south Belfast Jimmy Spratt called for tougher legislation to support victims of rape as well as a "robust action" by police.

He said the "clear-up rate is far too low in Northern Ireland".

"That needs to dramatically increase, there are far too few cases coming to conviction and certainly that needs to change.

"It needs to be shown that the victim is being fully supported."

The figures were released by Justice Minister Paul Goggins in response to a parliamentary question from DUP MP Nigel Dodds.

Mr Dodds said the figures were "quite disturbing".

"We need to restore confidence in law and order. As a society we need to get back to a point where the community has faith in our justice system," he said.

Mr Goggins said the government was committed to improving the rates of successful prosecution in rape cases.

"Specialist police units, staffed by highly skilled and trained personnel, are dedicated to enhancing the service to victims of rape and sexual assault," he said.

"Both PSNI and the Public Prosecution Service are seeking to develop models of best investigative practice so that more offences can achieve the threshold for prosecution."

Reported rapes in North up 50% in past six years

BELFAST TELEGRAPH
www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

The number of rapes being reported in the North has increased by 50% in the past six years, according to official figures.

Figures from the British Government show that more than 450 rapes or attempted rapes were reported last year.

Only 3% of cases resulted in convictions.

DUP MP Nigel Dodds says the figures are disturbing and people have a lack of confidence in the police and courts to protect them.

Justice Minister Paul Goggins, meanwhile, says the Public Prosecution Service is trying to develop new ways of investigating claims so more offences can be prosecuted.

Rape Statistics Show Dramatic Rise

4NI.co.uk

Both south Belfast and the North West have been shown as the areas where women are most at risk of rape.

Government figures just released have revealed a 50% increase overall in rape cases in Northern Ireland over the past six years.

There were more than 450 reported or attempted rapes in 2007 alone.

But, the highest number of rapes was in the Foyle area where 40 assaults were reported last year, with south Belfast a close second with just one less – at 39 reported incidents.

The figures were revealed by Justice Minister Paul Goggins in response to a parliamentary question from DUP MP Nigel Dodds who described the figures as disturbing.

He said that women must be reassured that they will be supported in any allegation of rape and to see that the crime is severely dealt with in the courts.

Mr Dodds said the figures were "quite disturbing".

"We need to restore confidence in law and order. As a society we need to get back to a point where the community has faith in our justice system," he said.

NIO Minister. Mr Goggins said the government was committed to improving the rates of successful prosecution in rape cases.

"Specialist police units, staffed by highly skilled and trained personnel, are dedicated to enhancing the service to victims of rape and sexual assault," he said.

"Both PSNI and the Public Prosecution Service are seeking to develop models of best investigative practice so that more offences can achieve the threshold for prosecution."

(BMcC)

Rise in rape incidents to one per day

Belfast Newsletter | 15.01.08

By Staff reporter

MORE than one woman is raped every day in Northern Ireland and the number of men reporting the crime has increased sevenfold since the law changed to identify men as victims of rape.

Statistics revealed by Security Minister Paul Goggins showed that 457 people were victims of rape last year, with 410 of them being women.

The figures for last year show a rise of 66 incidents of rapes from the previous year and in the past 10 years the figure has averaged at 274 rapes every year.

When first deemed victims in 2003, following the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2003, men who reported being raped numbered just six.

Last year’s figures showed that 47 men said they were raped.

Prompted by a parliamentary question by Economy Minister Nigel Dodds, Mr Goggins’ response broke down the figures for rape victims over the last 10 years, showing categories for age and sex.

Responding to the figures, Mr Dodds said he had “no doubt there is a greater reporting of crime than ever before”.

“This is a very serious crime and it continues to be a major issue for society that causes enormous trauma for its victims,” he said.

“We want to send a message to the perpetrators that the courts and the police are doing everything in their power to catch these people and put them away for a very long time.”

Spokeswoman for the Rape Crisis Centre in Northern Ireland Eileen Calder said her organisation’s statistics showed a “dramatic rise” in the number of people seeking help from the support service.

“Whether or not that can be interpreted as being proof of more sexual violence or that more people are prepared to report we can’t be sure but more people are prepared to come forward for counselling.

“It’s not scientific but in my experience I have seen quite a lot of girls, aged 14 to 17, who are less likely to blame themselves for being raped which is a good thing,” she said.

ARTISTS THROW LIFELINE TO RAPE CRISIS CENTRE

UTV from www.u.tv A sexual abuse charity could be saved from closure by some of Northern Ireland's top artists, it has emerged.

Paintings worth thousands of pounds are to be auctioned as part of a fundraising event for a beleaguered rape victims charity.

The money throws a lifeline to Belfast's Rape Crisis & Sexual Abuse Centre which has been facing closure since government funding was stopped last year.

More than 40 of Northern Ireland's most popular artists, including Rita Duffy, Brian Ballard and Hector McDonnell, have donated paintings for the auction.

A total of 15 works of art will go under the hammer at Ross' Auction House, Belfast, on Wednesday while the remaining paintings will be included in a show in April.

The charity has been struggling for almost 18 months since its government funding was controversially withdrawn.

A grant of £66,000 a year was stopped in July last year because the government claimed the centre was failing to keep proper financial accounts.

The centre - which is the only free crisis counselling service in Northern Ireland for victims of rape, sexual violence, and child sexual abuse - survives on public donations and small fundraising events.

It employs just two people and has the support of three volunteers.

Paula Wynburne, who organised a similar auction 15 years ago, said: "When I heard they were in dire financial straits I volunteered to come back and do some fundraising for them. And since it was so long since the last one I thought I`d go back and ask the artists to donate again."