PRESS RELEASE

Monday 4th January, 2016.

CARI calls on HSE to take urgent action to ensure the immediate reopening of the State’s only 24-hour treatment service for children and adolescents who have been sexually assaulted in Ireland.

CARI is outraged at the closure of the State’s only 24-hour treatment service for children and adolescents who have been sexually assaulted: the Galway-based Child and Adolescent Sexual Assault Treatment Service (CASATS). CASATS has played a key role in providing immediate forensic examinations of children who have been sexually assaulted or raped.

Since July 2014, CARI has provided an accompaniment service for children and families attending CASATS. The service is led by CARI and provided by seventeen volunteers on a twenty four hour all year basis. Since the services opened in July 2014, 88 children and families have been accompanied.  

Eve Farrelly Co-ordinator of the service says “We support the children and families during and after their forensic medical examination. We know first-hand from speaking with these families that when a family is faced with the reality of having to bring their child to be forensically examined because of suspected sexual abuse their whole world can sometimes feel like it’s been taken from under their feet.

At the moment in Ireland, CASATS is the only 24-hour acute and historic forensic medical service for children suspected of sexual abuse. Without this service, children will have no dedicated unit to go should they need a forensic examination. In 2016 this is a wholly unacceptable situation.”

Ms Farrelly continued “The standards that we provide to children must at least match the standards that we provide to adults who have access to specialised units in each part of the country. This is an essential service for the health and protection of our young people. The removal of this service is to fail our most cherished children, and it is our most cherished, most vulnerable that need this service.”
Indeed it puts Ireland in breach of commitments to child victims which was adopted by the government in November 2015.

The HSE must take immediate action to reinstate the service as victims of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) under the age of 14 in Ireland cannot avail of adequate support, examination and treatment at adult sexual assault and treatment units. This model service should not only be re-instated but extended throughout the country. This crisis highlights the danger of children falling through the cracks left by the separation of Tusla and the HSE as these acute services for children in major hospitals continue to be the responsibility of the HSE.

Ends

Contact;  Eve Farrelly Accompaniment Co-ordinator
                  Mary Flaherty CEO

CARI
Founded in 1989, CARI (Children At Risk in Ireland) is one of Ireland’s leading voluntary providers of therapy to children, families and groups affected by child sexual abuse.

CASATS
The CASATS service was established in 2011 by Dr Nelson and Dr Roger Derham to fill a gap where child victims of sexual violence were not being offered appropriate access to forensic medical care.Only 14-year-olds and older can avail of support, examination and treatment at adult sexual assault and treatment units.(SATU’s).