LIMERICK woman Leona O’Callaghan, a third survivor to address the Oireachtas committee on the Victims of Sexual Violence (Civil Protection Orders) Bill, made a heartfelt plea for the elected members to pass the Bill for the sake of the victims.
Her abuser was sentenced to 17 years but lived in the same locality where she still lives. And there is currently nothing to stop him moving back there when he is released.
“We cannot talk about safety without talking about the brutality of fear. The memory of his eyes staring at me as he raped me in a dark graveyard freezes my nervous system in a way I hope none of ye ever experience and no child is built to cope with. Only by understanding that level of fear can you understand my need to feel safe from him now,” she told the committee.
“Beyond the abuse, I had to survive a criminal justice process that requires you to relive it all. Moments I had spent years trying to forget I had to repeatedly relive.
“Without a protection order, I dread the day he is released. I accept even with this bill it’s too late for me now. In a couple of years this dangerous, violent rapist that I punished gets to share the same streets as me.
“We survivors came forward to get monsters like him off the streets and protect innocent children. Those are your children, your nieces, and your grandchildren.
“Current legislation is simply not enough. The onus should not be on me to return to court and be re-traumatised to apply for protection. It must be proactive, not reactive. I’ve done enough, the onus should be on the justice system to protect me now, and on you the committee that oversees it.
“I’ve done my job. It was a hard one. Today, I ask you to do yours: pass this bill in its entirety.”
– Court Reporting Scheme