Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697749861138.pdf (Ireland)
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice Opening remarks to the Joint Committee on Justice on the topic of Victim’s Testimony in Cases of Rape and Sexual Assault.

23rd March 2021.

Introduction Good afternoon, Chair and members of the Joint Oireachtas Committee, Men’s Aid is delighted to be invited to be here representing Victims of DA and IPV (men and boys experiencing sexual assault and rape across Ireland.
Men’s Aid is the only national charity dedicated to supporting men and their families experiencing intimate partner violence.

Our mission is to de-stigmatise intimate partner violence and raise awareness of the trauma affecting men and their families and support the victim as best we can .

We to do this through advocacy, education, practical and emotional support.
As a frontline service, we are committed to eliminating partner violence and together with our colleagues in the sector and An Garda Siochana / Tusla we are working towards the day every citizen can enjoy a family life free from the threat of partner violence.

Our services include a national helpline (Monday-Friday), 1:1 appointments, counselling, court accompaniment in Dolphin House, training and national advocacy.

Our frontline team are two full time and four part time.
Our funding represents 1% of the national DSGBV budget.

Research from 2005 showed approx.

1 in 7 men will experience domestic violence in their lifetime and that 95% of abuse experienced by men is not reported to Gardai.

The under reporting of domestic violence is a huge concern and can only highlight even more how more extremely difficult it is for men to report sexual assault/ rape.

The barriers of reporting are extremely challenging for the victim: 1.

Won’t be believed, 2.

Shame 3.


Masculinity and gender stereotypes 4.

The crime is not classed as rape in law because of gender.

Our clients age between 18 and 83 years old.

These sons, brothers and dads come from all walks of life, male travellers, LGBT, farmers, direct provision, foreign nationals, and men with disabilities, from a wide and varied background including carpenters to CEO’s.

Intimate partner violence does not discriminate.

Point 1.
Point 1.

Rape Myths Little is known about the needs of men experiencing partner sexual violence.

These men in the main suffer in silence as it remains difficult for society to accept that women too can be and are perpetrators of violence.

In 2020, our service supported approx.

5,500 contacts.

Of these, 13 brave men disclosed they were sexually assaulted, 11 by a female partner, 2 by a male partner, and two men disclosed they were raped by female partners.
In January 2021, we supported 557 contacts to our service.

We missed 80 calls due to limited resources.

One of the calls was from a man who disclosed having non-consensual sexual activity, in his words he had been raped by his wife.

This man, who is a dad in his 50’s took the brave step and with our support reported the rape to our colleagues in An Garda Siochana who are now investigating...

So I can’t say anything further in regard to this case.
Our colleagues in the UK are more advanced on this issue.

Dr. Siobhan Weare of Lancaster University Law School, is the expert in this field of men who report being raped by a female, the term used is FTP - ‘Forced to Penetrate’.

In 2020, we supported an 18 year old boy who reported his mum and sister were sexually assaulting him.

His phone was taken from him at times so he started to communicate with us via email from his local library.

His emails were heart-breaking to read, unimaginable even.
He wrote about his hope of getting a good leaving cert and college being his escape and safe place.

Too old for a referral to Tusla, too scared to speak to the Gardai.

There was nowhere for this vulnerable victim to go.

A quote from another client “She had sex with me, I didn’t want to, I ran into the bathroom” If your son, grandson, brother disclosed he experienced a sexual assault or rape, who would you tell?

Point 2.
Point 2.

Irish Legislation Currently Irish legislation does not recognise a male can be raped by a female.

The Criminal Law (Rape) Act, 1981 and The Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990 does not recognise/ label Force To Penetrate (FTP).

US data found that approx.

1 in 21 men reported they were raped (FTP) by someone else during their lifetime.

Legislation is creating a two tier system, who are we as a society to say a woman’s experience is worse than a man’s experience?
Current legislation is not protecting our dads, sons or brothers.

Would you want your son ignored?

3.

Consequences – The impact The harm of partner violence is catastrophic to the victim’s life.

The impact on mental health, flashbacks, panic attacks, depression, anxiety, PTSD, suicide ideation, feelings of shame, guilt, anger.

The increase in suicide ideation reported to our Helpline weekly is increasing at a significant rate.
Conclusion I hope our voice today opens your minds and hearts to all organisations fighting the war that is domestic and sexual violence in Ireland and that today is the start of inclusive dialogue that acknowledges, recognise that our sons, grandsons, dads and brothers need and deserve support services on their journey from the moment they disclose sexual violence right through to holding perpetrators accountable.

We ask that the Joint Committee reflect on our presentation today and call for 3 things: 1.
Law reform - Legislation to acknowledge that men experience rape/ sexual assault from a male and female Increased frontline & wrap around resources to support male victims of partner violence 2.

3.

Academic Research in the area so we can grasp a better understanding of men experiencing sexual assault and rape by a male and female partner I recognise this is a new area for Ireland, but it is our reality.
Given the limited levels of data in the area of men experiencing rape by a female partner I reached out to a number of colleagues whilst writing this presentation.

I would like to thank Noeline Blackwell, CEO Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, Dr. Siobhan Weare of Lancaster University, Duncan Craig CEO of Survivors Manchester, Mark Brooks, Chair of Mankind UK and Rhonda Lusty CEO of Men’s Advisory Project in Northern Ireland.
It is imperative we widen the circle and engage with experts who are ahead of us as we work towards supporting male victims of sexual assault and rape.

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Thank you all for your time.

ENDS.