ISPCC calls for national strategy to fight child sex abuse and exploitation
The organisation's head of policy and public affairs, Fiona Jennings, said the One in Four report launched last Thursday, the PrimeTime investigation into the Christian Brothers aired on Thursday night and the recent publication of the Grace report highlight the need for such a strategy, as recommended in a report from the Garda Siochana Inspectorate in 2017.
The Irish Attitudes to Tackling Child Sexual Abuse launched by One in Four on Thursday found that 40% of people know someone who was sexually abused as a child, while more than 90% of respondents believe society had failed to address child sexual abuse.
'Is this the moment that we will finally see this acted upon? This research (in the One in Four report) speaks to the need for a whole-of-society approach, it speaks to the need for one for not just child sexual exploitation offline but it also speaks to the online element as well.
"Eight years later, we still don't have this recommendation in place, and we don't have to stray too far just to see how vulnerable victims and survivors of child sexual abuse have been treated,' said Ms Jennings.
She said a national strategy would bring together all the different agencies and individuals who have expertise in different areas relating to child sexual abuse.
She also said there is a need for an audit of Ireland's laws and guidelines in the area to 'ensure that our laws and policies are fit for purpose'.
She added: 'I firmly believe that child sexual abuse is the last taboo that Ireland needs to tackle in a meaningful way.
We have tackled divorce, we have tackled marriage equality, we have tackled reproductive rights. Now is the time that we need to tackle child sexual abuse.
"If Thursday's report was not that seminal turning point, then I really worry as to what we actually do need.'
The One in Four report was published on the same day as the PrimeTime documentary on the Christian Brothers, which revealed that two members who were senior leaders of the order over the space of two decades and managed the congregation's assets are now convicted child sexual abusers.
Last Tuesday, the general solicitor for minors and wards of court, Marie-Claire Butler, claimed none of the "extensive" submissions made on behalf of the woman known as Grace were included "in any way" in the final report of the Farrelly Commission.
The commission was tasked with examining allegations of abuse and severe neglect while she was in a foster home in the southeast over a 20-year period.
While it found that Grace, who is now in her 40s and who is severely intellectually disabled, had been neglected and there was a lack of oversight for her care, the commission was not satisfied the evidence established she had been subjected to physical, sexual, or emotional abuse.
Citing the One in Four report, the Christian Brothers documentary and the Grace report, Ms Jennings said: 'What do we actually need to do in order to get our policy makers to act?' The ISPCC will now be contacting the government to seek the implementation of such a strategy."
She added: 'It is something that should be coordinated from the Department of the Taoiseach.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- Irish Independent
Wicklow excluded from funding for housing refurbishment works
The Department of Housing currently supports ongoing activity and projects under the Social Housing National Regeneration Programme in the cities of Dublin, Cork and Limerick and the counties of Sligo and Kerry. However, Wicklow is not currently one of the counties which comes under the programme with no payments made to the local authority over the past five years. When the Department of Housing appeared before the Public Accounts Committee in June this year, figures obtained by committee chair Wicklow Sinn Fein TD John Brady showed the department's €12 million budget for regeneration works remained largely untouched. The figures also revealed that of a separate €50 million budget for estate regeneration, the department only spent €37.2 million. The Wicklow TD pointed to estates like Hillview in Wicklow town, which recently featured prominently on RTÉ's Prime Time, as clear examples of the urgent need for funding. 'Hillview has faced ongoing issues since the houses were first built in the early 2000s, yet the Government continues to turn its back on the residents,' he said. 'Some years ago, funding was approved for regeneration works in Ashlawn Court in Fassaroe, Bray, but only 18 out of 248 homes were completed because the remainder of the funding was never granted.' 'That is simply unacceptable.' Deputy Brady also highlighted serious structural problems in parts of Farrankelly in Delgany, where some houses are plagued with dampness and require urgent remedial works. Council staff in the Greystones Municipal District are currently carrying out detailed studies of those properties, with a review due to be finished by the early autumn. 'These are not luxury upgrades,' he said. 'These are essential works to ensure that people live in safe, healthy homes. Wicklow County Council cannot provide these works if they are not given the necessary funding.' Brady has called on the Department of Housing to allocate the proper funding that allows for regeneration projects to take place. 'There is no excuse for leaving money unspent while families are left to live in substandard housing.' 'I will continue to fight to ensure that estates in Wicklow which are in dire need of regeneration works receive the funding and resources to make that happen. No tenant should be forced to live in substandard housing.' he added. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
Sunday World
08-08-2025
- Sunday World
Teen daughter of man killed by her mother talks about growing up around domestic violence
Ellie Ryan was just 15 when she held her father in her arms as he lay dying outside their home in Balbriggan, Dublin on August 11, 2024 The teenage daughter whose mother killed her father has spoken about the effects domestic violence has on children. Ellie Ryan was just 15 when she held her father in her arms as he lay dying outside their home in Balbriggan, north Dublin on August 11, 2024. Earlier this month, Ellie's mother, Olesja Hertova, who admitted to forcefully pushing James Ryan, causing a fall that led to his death, was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison, backdated to last August. Mr Ryan, who had three grown-up children with his now deceased wife, also had one daughter with Hertova, his partner of 17 years. That daughter, Ellie, has told of the impact that domestic violence has on children as she urged others who find themselves in a similar situation to seek help. Ellie Ryan speaking out News in 90 Seconds - Aug 8th "I held his hand,' Ellie recalled. 'I will never forget it. He said, 'Ellie, I want to go home,' but I knew it was bad." The now 16-year-old told presenter Miriam O'Callaghan in an interview on Prime Time on RTÉ that if you're a child living with fear or violence, 'please know this: you are not alone'. Mr Ryan, a former Defence Forces member, was pushed by her mother, Olesja Hertova, during a violent row outside their home. However, it emerged that he had suffered years of hidden abuse before his death which Ellie said 'no child should ever have to witness in their life'. Ellie who now lives with her older sisters Karen and Lynn Ryan, said she wanted to speak publicly to help other young people living in a similar situation. "I want to say, you are not alone. I've been through this. There is help out there. You can get better, if you just reach out," Ellie said. Ellie's dad James Ellie told Prime Time she and her father were very close. "We would go on drives together. We would listen to music, have conversations. We would go to KFC, we would just drive around and we'd have a good time together." But inside the house, Ellie says she lived in fear, as there were multiple different incidents 'where I would see my mother starting arguments with my father'. 'Whether this be physical or emotional, verbal. She would just always start arguments with him. This would happen maybe once or twice a week," Ellie said. From a young age, she says, she learned to suppress her emotions. "I coped by bottling my feelings up and keeping it all inside, I think I was afraid to reach out and say something to someone. 'It's scary as a child when you go through that you feel really trapped. You feel like you have nowhere to go, you're just stuck," she added. Ellie said she often felt she was the one trying to hold everything together. "I used to feel like I was the parent in the relationship. I was like the mother in that relationship." James Ryan never told his older children, from his previous marriage, what was happening inside his home. Only after James 'Shey' Ryan was killed did his family learn the extent of the domestic abuse he was suffering at the hands of his long-term partner. 'After my father was killed, the investigating garda asked me, 'Did you know your father had two safety orders against Olesja?' My mouth dropped open,' his daughter Karen Ryan told The Irish Independent. 'But he didn't activate these safety orders. We didn't know she had been abusing our father.' The night James was attacked, Karen said he walked out of the house with his phone light on as there were no street lights. "She ran at him, pushed him forcefully, his head bounced off the ground twice." Ellie who found him moments later stayed by her father's side as neighbours called for paramedics after coming upon the scene. James Ryan never recovered and his life support was turned off the following evening. Karen and Lynn, along with his adult son and his sisters, stayed by his bedside. None of them had known the full extent of what had been happening until then. When Mr Ryan struck up a relationship with Hertova after meeting her socially in Balbriggan, his daughter, Karen, had some reservations. Karen and Lynn Ryan On one occasion Mr Ryan was minding Karen's two young children and when she drove to her father's home to collect them, she found them all standing outside the house in the rain. 'That's when I knew something wasn't right. I knocked on the door. She [Hertova] thought I was my dad and shouted out, 'F**k off, you're not getting back in'. 'Who leaves their partner and two little kids out in the lashing rain? But my dad would always defend her.' Ellie and her sisters say the court never heard about the years of abuse her father endured. "I feel like his voice was completely silenced and as if his voice was just swept under the carpet," Ellie said. For Ellie, her mother's sentence brought about a deep sense of injustice. It's just completely unfair. And it doesn't show the amount of pain that our family has endured or the amount of years that my dad has suffered through my mother's abuse," she said. In a message to other children who may be living through what she did, Ellie said: "I was scared; I was worried, and that's why I'd like to speak up now, to help other children feel less alone. You deserve to be loved and feel protected. "If you're a child living with fear or violence, please know this: you are not alone. You can get help and reach out to services like Tusla or Childline."
RTÉ News
07-08-2025
- RTÉ News
Teen urges young people to seek help after father's violent death
Ellie Ryan was 15 when she held her father in her arms as he lay dying outside their home in Balbriggan, north Dublin. "I held his hand… I will never forget it. He said, 'Ellie, I want to go home,' but I knew it was bad," the now 16-year-old told presenter Miriam O'Callaghan in an interview that airs on Prime Time at 9.35pm on RTÉ One. Ellie's mother, Olesja Hertova, admitted to forcefully pushing James Ryan, causing a fall that led to his death on 11 August 2024. Earlier this month, Hertova was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison, backdated to last August. The judge in the case said Hertova had "lost her temper" during the incident. CCTV footage showed Mr Ryan striking his head on the ground after being pushed. Ellie's parents had been in a relationship for 16 years. Mr Ryan was a former Defence Forces member and had been suffering from Parkinson's disease and COPD. His death followed a pattern of violent episodes inside the family home, Ellie said. "I've seen things that no child should ever have to witness in their life." Ellie now lives with her older sisters Karen and Lynn Ryan. Ellie says she wants to speak publicly to help other young people living in a similar situation. "I want to say, you are not alone. I've been through this. There is help out there. You can get better, if you just reach out," Ellie said. Ellie told Prime Time she and her father were inseparable. "We would go on drives together. We would listen to music, have conversations. We would go to KFC, we would just drive around and we'd have a good time together." But inside the house, Ellie says she lived in fear. "There were multiple different incidents where I would see my mother starting arguments with my father. Whether this be physical or emotional, verbal. She would just always start arguments with him. This would happen maybe once or twice a week," Ellie said. From a young age, she says, she learned to suppress her emotions. "I coped by bottling my feelings scary as a child when you go through that you feel really trapped. You feel like you have nowhere to go, you're just stuck," she added. Ellie said she often felt she was the one trying to hold everything together. "I used to feel like I was the parent in the relationship... I was like the mother in that relationship." James Ryan never told his older children, from his previous marriage, what was happening inside his home. It was only after his death that Karen and Lynn discovered he had applied for safety orders against Hertova. "My father was a proud man. He was old school," said Lynn. "He hid it well. He didn't want to bother anyone with his troubles." The night James Ryan was attacked, Karen said he walked out of the house with his phone light on as there were no street lights. "She ran at him, pushed him forcefully, his head bounced off the ground twice." Ellie found him moments later. The family's neighbours called for paramedics after coming upon the scene. Ellie says she stayed by her father's side throughout. James Ryan never recovered. His life support was turned off the following evening. Karen and Lynn, along with his adult son and his sisters, stayed by his bedside. None of them had known the full extent of what had been happening until then. "We obviously knew there were issues in the relationship," said Karen. "But at no point did we ever, ever think our father was in a domestic violence situation." What followed was a legal process the Ryan family says failed to acknowledge the full truth of what had happened. Ellie's mother pleaded guilty to the unlawful killing of James Ryan and received a sentence of two years and nine months. The judge cited her early plea, lack of prior convictions, and good character. But Ellie and her sisters say the court never heard about the years of abuse her father endured. "I feel like his voice was completely silenced and as if his voice was just swept under the carpet," Ellie said. The family have since written to the Director of Public Prosecutions, asking for a review of the case. "A full history of our father's case of domestic violence was not brought forward to the judge at sentencing. So, he was not allowed to see the bad character of Ellie's mother. In this case, he assumed this woman was of good character and that was what the judge said," Ellie's sister Lynn said. "The defendant had a voice and her father didn't." For Ellie, her mother's sentence brought about a deep sense of injustice. "When you get two years and nine months for killing someone, it's just completely unfair. And it doesn't show the amount of pain that our family has endured or the amount of years that my dad has suffered through my mother's abuse," she said. In court, Ellie stood just a few feet away from her mother. "It was difficult for me to read out my victim impact statement..., so my sister Lynn read it out for me," she said. "It was a highly emotional experience." Ellie is now in fifth year. She lives with Karen during the week and stays with Lynn on weekends. She's in therapy, and her sisters have secured legal guardianship. "I'm doing much better now," Ellie said. "My psychotherapist has helped me through every dark day." In a message to other children who may be living through what she did, Ellie said: "I was scared; I was worried, and that's why I'd like to speak up now, to help other children feel less alone. You deserve to be loved and feel protected. "If you're a child living with fear or violence, please know this: you are not alone. You can get help and reach out to services like Tusla or Childline."
