Sexual Offences

A support service for victims of sexual violence in Northern Ireland will close at the end of the month in advance of a new state-led service being launched. Victim Support NI announced "with regret" that its independent sexual violence advocate (ISVA) service would close on 31 August 2021.

A pared-back bill to update the law on sexual offending in Northern Ireland has been introduced to the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Bill is focused on enhancing public safety and improving services for victims of trafficking and exploitation.

Significant additional resources and a "culture change" are needed to tackle delays in Irish rape trials, a major new report has recommended. Dr Susan Leahy of the University of Limerick produced the 49-page report, titled The Realities of Rape Trials in Ireland: Perspectives from Practice, in partn

Slovenia has become the 13th country in Europe to pass legislation defining rape as sex without consent. The new amendment to the Slovenian criminal code, debated for nearly three years, removes the requirement for evidence of use of force or the threat of use of force and violence to classify an ac

Tom O’Malley SC explains his interest in sexual offending and the background to his appointment as chair of the review of protections for vulnerable witnesses in the investigation and prosecution of sexual offences. It all started one miserable winter’s evening in the mid-1980s at Yale L

Research into the Irish system of legal representation for complainants in sexual offence trials has been cited with approval in a judicial-led review of Scottish sexual offences cases. Eamon Keane, an academic at the University of Edinburgh, and Scottish solicitor Tony Convery published a report on

Victims of sexual offences will receive publicly-funded independent legal advice under a pilot scheme launched today. The new scheme fulfils one of the recommendations of retired Court of Appeal judge Sir John Gillen’s high-profile review of the law and procedures in serious sexual offences in

Legislation banning the likes of teachers and social workers from having sex with under-18s in their care is set to be extended to cover sports coaches and faith leaders. Justice Minister Naomi Long yesterday announced plans to bring an amendment to the Justice (Miscellaneous) Provisions Bill later

Victims of sexual offences should receive independent legal representation throughout criminal trials, rather than limited to the questioning of their previous sexual experience, Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) has said. The NGO has published its submission to the Oireachtas justice committee, whic

The Government is to seek to rationalise laws on harassment to prevent offenders from contacting their victims. Department of Justice officials are drafting a new Sexual Offences Bill, due to be published towards the end of the year.

Complainants in sexual offence cases in Northern Ireland will have access to fully qualified sexual offences legal advisors (SOLAs) from April, Justice Minister Naomi Long has confirmed. The pilot scheme fulfils one of the recommendations of retired Court of Appeal judge Sir John Gillen's high-profi

The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal against a rape conviction in which the defendant claimed that the trial judge had erred by allowing more than one “recent complaint” witness. Giving the judgment of the Court, Mr Justice John Edwards described the situation as “somewhat u

Most of the sexual offences cases in which convictions were set aside just over two months ago after a legislative error came to light will not return to court, prosecutors have announced. The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) yesterday announced the outcome of its review of the 15 cases involving 17

Just three per cent of rape cases referred to prosecutors in Northern Ireland in the past year led to prosecution and conviction, new figures suggest. The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) received 1,684 files involving a sexual offence during the 2019/20 financial year, a six per cent increase on th

The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) has set aside the convictions of 15 individuals for certain sexual offences as a result of a legislative error which caused them to be invalid. The PPS conducted a review of all cases potentially impacted after prosecutors became aware of a technical change