Lack of support for child abuse victims

CHILDREN WHO are the victims of sexual assault are not receiving the medical support they need despite the recommendations of a report published three years ago, it has been claimed.

An open letter sent to the Minister for Health and Children Mary Harney by the Manuela Riedo Foundation has described support for child victims of sexual assault as “under-resourced, limited by lack of equipment and facilities”. Ms Riedo was murdered by Galway man Gerald Barry in October 2007. He will be sentenced on Friday for the rape of a French student which occurred in Galway seven weeks before he killed Ms Riedo.

The letter was sent by Basle-based publican Brendan McGuinness, who is organising a concert in the Swiss capital Bern on Saturday. The concert will feature some of the biggest names in Irish music including The Chieftans, The Dubliners, Shane MacGowan and Sharon Shannon. McGuinness set up the foundation earlier this year.

He said the absence of facilities was identified in the 2006 National Review of Sexual Assault Treatment Services, but three years on there is still no dedicated service, no appropriate national model of care, no formalised referral pathway for child abuse victims and no child-friendly environment for children who are suspected of being the victims of sexual assault.

He said that in Galway, where Riedo was killed in 2007, the opening of a Sexual Assault Referral Centre was recently postponed. “There are no formalised models of medical care for children suspected of [being victims of] sexual abuse in Galway,” he said.

“This is a terrible indictment of the lack of prioritisation of children’s services which adversely affects the quality of care and support available for victims of abuse. It also jeopardises the procurement of DNA and other material evidence to aid in the conviction of abusers,” he said in the letter which was sent last week.

He said it was too late for Manuela Riedo, but imperative that proper measures are taken to ensure the required medical equipment, facilities and trained staff are in place to support victims of sexual abuse, and to maximise the potential for the successful conviction of offenders.

In a brief response to Mr McGuinness’s letter, Ms Harney said the issues of the treatment of child victims of sexual assault were being dealt with.