Sexual assault treatment units saw 529 in '09

Nevyn

Minister for Health Mary Harney has launched the 2009 sexual assault treatment unit report.

2009 was the first year that all six units in Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Mullingar, Galway and Letterkenny were fully operational.

They saw 529 people, the vast majority of them women, but 5.5% of those who attended were men.

The average age of patients was 24, the youngest was 13 and the eldest 80.

61% of those who attended knew their attackers.

The presence of alcohol continued to be a feature with over half of those who attended having consumed four or more units of alcohol in the 12 hours prior to the incidence - 11% of the patients were unsure if a sexual assault had occurred because of amnesia due to alcohol consumption.

Dr Maeve Eogan, Medical Director of the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit at the Rotunda Hospital, said a positive aspect of the service across the country was that nobody is more than three hours away from a unit now.

All units are staffed with clinical nurse specialists who can administer emergency contraception and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.

Dr Eogan also said they can care for people who do not want to report their incident to the gardaí, which is a new development

The stats being 13 to 80 and 61% of victims knew their attackers is horrendous.

Wibbs

Terrible alright. Funny I would have thought 61% a low figure and that it would have been much higher.

Nevyn

It's more then 10 people a week and that is only those who have come forward and not tried to forget about it.

Goldenquick

It is good to see these units all over Ireland at last. A friend of my daughter's was sexually assaulted when she was 14 a few years ago and had to be brought to Dublin. 1.5 hour journey which is fine in the normal scheme of things but not in a case like this. Good to see the powers that be realise there is life outside Dublin.

Nervous Wreck

Jesus christ.... Reckon a few more of these units are needed. As Thaed said, that's only the amount that actually came forward; I imagine the real numbers are an awful lot higher. Some people wouldn't be up to travelling 3 hours to get to their nearest Sexual Assault Treatment Unit and that's awful... Can't believe we've only 6 in the country. That's somewhere around one unit for every 88 people who actually attend....

Nevyn

I have had to travel with someone who was a rape victim from Dundalk to Dublin, when wasn't a dr able to do a rape kit, that length of a journey with someone who is shock and upset and can't shower until it's done is very hard.

minidazzler

Wibbs wrote: »

Terrible alright. Funny I would have thought 61% a low figure and that it would have been much higher.

I was thinking the same TBH. But then again, are victims less likely to come forward if they know their attacker?

Terrible figure, and as they say, that's probably just the tip of the iceburg.

Emme

Thaedydal wrote: »

It's more then 10 people a week and that is only those who have come forward and not tried to forget about it.

The sad thing is that victims think they can forget about it but in lots of cases they can't, it often takes years and comes back to bite them in the butt every now and then. I don't like Mary Harney but if she launched this report she has done one good thing. I would say that 529 victims is a very small tip of the iceberg.

I don't think that victims are as likely to come forward if they know their attacker because the circumstances of the attack may be such that assault will be very difficult to prove. The victim's prior relationship with their attacker will also influence their decision to come forward or not.

LenaClaire

Emme wrote:

I don't think that victims are as likely to come forward if they know their attacker because the circumstances of the attack may be such that assault will be very difficult to prove. The victim's prior relationship with their attacker will also influence their decision to come forward or not.

Sadly this is very true. I have had several friends that were assaulted by either ex-boyfriends or aquantances and none of them reported it as they either did not think they would be believed or were too ashamed.

miss5

jujibee wrote: »

Sadly this is very true. I have had several friends that were assaulted by either ex-boyfriends or aquantances and none of them reported it as they either did not think they would be believed or were too ashamed.

Completely agree, I know girls who would not consider it rape if
it was their boyfriends. It's awful I do think we need more treatment
units though. It should be easily accessible for victims as it's such
a traumatic time.

Lux23

I think its important for people to get treatment but I think it is really important to say to people that you can go on and lead a very normal life. So many TV programmes make women/men who were assaulted out to be victims who cower away from men and never get over it. That kind of crap always really annoys me, I honestly don't think its the worst thing that can happen to a person. You can move on from it with the right intervention which isn't always the same for everyone. I also don't think anyone should be forced to report a rape to the police if its not the road they want to go down, its a huge committment to see something like this through.

fatmammycat

Lux23 wrote: »

I think its important for people to get treatment but I think it is really important to say to people that you can go on and lead a very normal life. So many TV programmes make women/men who were assaulted out to be victims who cower away from men and never get over it. That kind of crap always really annoys me, I honestly don't think its the worst thing that can happen to a person. You can move on from it with the right intervention which isn't always the same for everyone. I also don't think anyone should be forced to report a rape to the police if its not the road they want to go down, its a huge committment to see something like this through.

You may not think it's the worst thing to happen to a person, but to many people it is EXACTLY that. Not everyone has the capacity to just 'move on' from such a trauma so easily.

Emme

fatmammycat wrote: »

You may not think it's the worst thing to happen to a person, but to many people it is EXACTLY that. Not everyone has the capacity to just 'move on' from such a trauma so easily.

Depending on the trauma and the person concerned it can be very difficult. The betrayal of trust involved in a date rape or a sexual assault by a male acquaintance can have awful long term effects. You can "move on" at the start and be in denial but boy is it a shock if the trauma hits you at a later stage.

fatmammycat

Emme wrote: »

Depending on the trauma and the person concerned it can be very difficult. The betrayal of trust involved in a date rape or a sexual assault by a male acquaintance can have awful long term effects. You can "move on" at the start and be in denial but boy is it a shock if the trauma hits you at a later stage.

Exactly, all sorts of thing can trigger a flashback or knock a person for six and at any time over the course of a life.

Emme

fatmammycat wrote: »

Exactly, all sorts of thing can trigger a flashback or knock a person for six and at any time over the course of a life.

I think the right sort of intervention can help the person be aware of that and manage the trauma better. I don't think the way that society views women helps with porn being so commonplace. It's frightening the way young girls feel that they have to behave a certain way to impress boys. I think that older women can suffer too, especially if they've been out of the dating scene for a long time. Many of the men that are out there now see no reason to treat a woman well and expect sex as their divine right at the end of the first date or even at the end of a casual meeting in a bar.

Lux23

fatmammycat wrote: »

You may not think it's the worst thing to happen to a person, but to many people it is EXACTLY that. Not everyone has the capacity to just 'move on' from such a trauma so easily.

To some people but to me personally its offensive to hear anyway say there is no moving on after sexual assault. Because there is.

Yes I do agree that you can still have issues but rape survivors shouldn't feel that it should be holding them back if you know what I mean.

Nevyn

I would say that rape victims have trouble moving on and rape survivours have managed to move on but we don't get over getting raped or sexual assulated but we learn to live with it and deal with the fall out.

Novella

Lux23 wrote: »

To some people but to me personally its offensive to hear anyway say there is no moving on after sexual assault. Because there is.

Yes I do agree that you can still have issues but rape survivors shouldn't feel that it should be holding them back if you know what I mean.

Sometimes there is a hell of a lot of difference between what you should feel and what you do feel.

Of course there is moving on, but to some people all moving on means is that there is a longer period of time between now and when the rape (or any traumatic event) occurred. If a person is being held back by something that has happened in their past, it is perfectly ok for them to feel that.

You don't always have to be the strong one. Picking up the pieces can take a really long time, it can take a lifetime and I think that's ok. It is ok to never feel the same again.

Emme

Novella wrote: »

Sometimes there is a hell of a lot of difference between what you should feel and what you do feel.

Of course there is moving on, but to some people all moving on means is that there is a longer period of time between now and when the rape (or any traumatic event) occurred. If a person is being held back by something that has happened in their past, it is perfectly ok for them to feel that.

You don't always have to be the strong one. Picking up the pieces can take a really long time, it can take a lifetime and I think that's ok. It is ok to never feel the same again.

I think that the experiences the victim has in the years following the assault can have a big impact. OK, the victim might get support from friends, family and professionals but if his/her subsequent relationship and/or sexual experiences are largely negative then healing will take a lot longer.

The negative experiences can often set back whatever little healing has taken place and trigger flashbacks. I compare it to a game of snakes and ladders. You meet someone, it's like rolling a dice and they can be a snake (set you back) or a ladder (help you move on).