Waterford TD's ongoing call for sex crime victims' counselling records to be protected
Waterford TD Matt Shanahan has called on Government again to protect the confidentiality of sex crime victims.
A Waterford TD has reiterated his call in Dáil Éireann for the private counselling records of sexual assault victims to “remain private” during criminal trials.
It follows a Central Criminal Court case this week in which a victim of serious historical sex crimes was forced to listen to specific medical information from his counselling records that he had explicitly asked to be kept confidential.
Judge Keenan Johnson acknowledged that the disclosure of the sensitive information was a “mistake” on the part of the barrister representing the defendant, but added that it was evident the lawyer’s judgement was “clouded by his desire to represent and protect his client’s interests.”
According to Independent TD, Matt Shanahan, this was a “most grotesque example of the welfare of a sexual assault victim being disregarded.”
“The victim in this harrowing case is a man named William Edgill, and I am astounded by his bravery and integrity,” Deputy Shanahan said.
“He waived his right to anonymity so his rapist could be named and shamed, and then had to endure the most sensitive information from his counselling records; information that was never meant to be heard in public, being read aloud for all to hear.
"It’s particularly striking that Mr Edgill said he would be ‘reluctant to recommend anybody to go forward’ following what he endured in the trial," continued Deputy Shanahan, "It’s time now that we changed the laws surrounding counselling records so we don’t see any more ‘mistakes’ like the one we saw in court this week.”
Deputy Shanahan previously raised this issue with the Taoiseach on July 2, during Leaders questions and Taoiseach Simon Harris agreed that “counselling notes should not be admissible,” stating that Justice Minister Helen McEntee intends to outlaw it.
“Section 19(a) of the Criminal Evidence Act 1992 as amended by Section 39 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 states that a sexual assault victim’s counselling records - the privacy of which I believe should be protected by the full extent of the law - can be disclosed in a court case at the whim of a judge,” Deputy Shanahan added.
“This inevitably makes victims think twice about seeking the support of a counsellor, which can cause irreparable damage to their mental health. We need show that we are serious about protecting the welfare of victims of sexual assaults in Ireland and we need to take their counsellor records ‘off-limits'." he concluded.
