National Women's Council: Character References In Sexual Assault Trials Should Be Abolished
It comes as the Justice Minister is meeting victims of sexual violence to discuss their experiences in the criminal justice system.
The National Women's Council is calling for the submission of character references in sexual assault trials to be abolished.
Currently, they can be handed into court ahead of sentencing.
It's ahead of a new Sexual Offences Bill, which is due to be published by the end of the year.
Orla O'Connor, director of the National Women's Council, says character references are hugely damaging to the victim:
"This is after a victim or a survivor has gone through the whole process of reporting, of waiting for charges, of waiting for a trial, of enduring a trial. And so at the end of that enormously difficult and traumatic process, to have to hear from a so called respectable people from your community to come forward to speak of this person's good character must be absolutely devastating."
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