Analysis provided by: Maggie Smieszek, Legal Expert.

More

Sexual Violence

TheCriminal Law Actof 1981 defines rape as a man having unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman who at the time of the intercourse does not consent to it, and the man either knows that she does not consent or acts recklessly as to her consent. This definition of rape was expanded by theCriminal Law(Rape) (Amendment) Act1990. The 1990 Act criminalizes sexual assault, defined as indecent assault upon any female, and defines rape more broadly. The amended statute abolishes the requirement that the victim's testimony be corroborated by other evidence, instead leaving it to the judge's discretion whether to issue a warning to the jury about relying on uncorroborated testimony.

The 1990 Act also revised the law to reject the previous presumption that a man was innocent because his age made him physically incapable of committing an offense. The Act limits public attendance at rape or sexual assault hearings and prohibits the introduction of evidence concerning the victim's prior sexual experience, unless specifically allowed by the judge.

Sexual Harassment

TheEmployment Equality Act1998 defines sexual harassment as unwanted physical intimacy, requests for sexual favours, spoken words and gestures and the display or circulation of written words, pictures or other materials in the workplace. Unwelcome requests or conduct that could reasonably be regarded as sexually or otherwise on the gender ground, offensive, humiliating or intimidating, shall constitute sexual harassment.

Employers are liable for the acts of employees done in the course of employment, whether or not the acts were done with the employer's knowledge, if they do not take reasonable steps to prevent such harassment. An employer is also liable for acts of agents of the company.

Domestic Violence/Spousal Abuse

TheDomestic Violence Actof 1996 outlines civil and criminal provisions in the area of domestic violence. The Act addresses authorizing an arrest without a warrant in certain circumstances, the granting of barring, safety and protection orders, and extending protection in situations of violence between unmarried partners.

Significantly, under theDomestic Violence Act, a spouse, parent, or opposite-sex co-habitee who has been living for six of the previous nine months with the person accused of abuse may seek a barring order. A barring order excludes the perpetrator from the family home and/or from using or threatening violence against the applicant and any dependent children. The conditions of the barring order are determined by the judge who issues it. A safety order prohibits a person from threatening violence or putting the applicant in fear of violence, whether or not the persons reside together. This order does not require that the violent person leave the family home. The safety order may be made valid for five years, and prevents the perpetrator from watching or harassing the applicant. An interim barring order is temporary and granted on an expedited basis. A protection order is the more common form of order granted on an expedited basis, if there are reasonable grounds to believe the applicant's safety and welfare are at risk. A protection order is valid until the time of a full hearing for the barring order.

Prostitution

TheCriminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act1993 prohibits soliciting or importuning for purposes of prostitution as well as loitering. It states that a member of the Garda Síochána (Ireland National Police Service) may direct a person to leave immediately the street or public place if there is reasonable cause to suspect that the person is loitering in order to solicit or importune another person for prostitution. The Act further outlaws organizing prostitution for gain, living on the earnings of prostitutions, and keeping or managing a brothel.

Hide