The Mick Clifford Podcast: Where law and justice pass each other by — Noeline Blackwell
Noeline Blackwell, chief executive of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, is this week’s guest on the Mick Clifford podcast.
Only about 1% of people who suffer intimate violence end up seeing the perpetrator answer for their crimes, according to the chief executive of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC).
Around 600 people attend the DRCC in a normal year, Noeline Blackwell says, which would generally be made up of 80% women and 20% men, although some people do not identify with either gender.
Of those who do attend, around 10% decide to pursue a case against their perpetrator.
“When you think about crime in general, for the most part, people go to the gardaí about somebody they don’t know but it’s the exact opposite in sexual or domestic violence,” Ms Blackwell told the Mick Clifford podcast.
“People who come to us are complaining or just looking for help in relation to sexual violence at the hands of a partner or ex-partner or member of their own family, or friend in a group or somebody they dated or worked with.
"In those circumstances, you have another barrier. To report that kind of crime has consequences for you in your community or your family.”
Around 10% of victims would typically decide to pursue a criminal complaint but most of those cases do not ultimately end up in a criminal prosecution, Ms Blackwell said.
“It can take people ages to even think about reporting what happened to them.
“Of the 10% who go to the guards only 10% of those, or 1% overall will get as far as court. Some will fall because there is not enough evidence or they might get worn down by the process.
"While they are going through that process they can’t heal because they have to remember everything about the incident.
"So they get exhausted by the process. And sometimes there might be pressure to step away. There are so many reasons.”
Noeline Blackwell is this week’s guest on the Mick Clifford podcast.
