A significant increase in teenagers committing sexual assaults against other teenagers has been recorded by support organisation Children at Risk in Ireland (Cari).
Minister for Children James Reilly expressed concern that the number of calls to the Cari helpline over rape and sexual assault had increased by 43 per cent in the three years to the end of 2014 and that many of those involved teen-on-teen assault.
Cari chief executive Mary Flaherty said the assaults are sometimes photographed and circulated on the internet, causing "huge additional trauma" for victims.
Cari said it receives an average of 1,500 calls a year to its specialist helpline for sexually abused children.
‘Shocking scandal’
Launching the organisation’s annual report, Ms Flaherty said the lack of therapeutic services for child victims remains a “shocking scandal”.
There are 1,500 children a year in Ireland who should be offered help immediately after abuse, she said, but cutbacks in statutory funding and a drop in fundraising mean this is not possible.
Ms Flaherty said children can recover from abuse if they receive timely therapy. She criticised waiting times of up to 12 months for care and said the justice system is failing children.
“Delays in court proceedings impact very severely on children,” she said. “The delays in getting cases to court leave children waiting and worrying for a significant proportion of their young life.”
‘Violation of the child’
She added that demands from the Director of Public Prosecutions for the release of confidential child therapy notes amounted to a “violation of the child”, and that such notes should only be released in exceptional circumstances.
Minister for Children James Reilly said the report’s contents were “very worrying”.
On the issue of teenage sexual assault, he said: “We need to do more research as to why it’s happening. It’s obviously of great concern.
“Obviously to me as a clinician, I would worry about those committing the crime as well - as to what their experience in life has been that makes them feel that this is an appropriate behaviour.”
Asked about Cari’s complaint over a lack of resources, Dr Reilly said the recession meant Government spending on these types of organisations had to be reduced.
“It wasn’t possible to look at this issue in the way that we might like to have looked at it, but certainly I believe that we could be looking at it now,” he said.
