Dublin Rape Crisis Centre

03/09/2026

Delays to justice can make an already difficult system an endurance test for survivors of s*xual violence. In the case of child s*xual abuse, intentional delays by the defendants can even mean the perpetrator dies having never faced justice. Justice delayed is justice denied.

For Derek McCarthy, a survivor of abuse by members of the Spiritan Order at Rockwell College, a priest who abused him died and no criminal case was heard.

Derek has recently heard that the DPP has decided not to prosecute a second individual accused of abusing him as a child. For some survivors, ensuring justice is served is central to healing, which can be set back considerably when they cannot pursue a criminal conviction.

Data published last year under a Freedom of Information request showed that the prosecution rate for s*xual offences was just 33% between 2014-2024, with ‘insufficient evidence’ often being the reason. The DPP applies a high standard when deciding whether to prosecute and operates under the legal standard of proving guilt beyond reasonable doubt in criminal cases. Thankfully, the data also showed that when cases are prosecuted, the defendant is convicted in over 3 out of 4 cases.

A decision not to prosecute does not mean that a survivor should not be believed. It does not mean that what they experienced did not happen. But as Derek said himself to the Irish Independent, “I am still numb. What message does this send to other victims?”

We want all survivors of child s*xual abuse to know that at Dublin R**e Crisis Centre, support is available. Whether accompaniment to court, support ahead of and after a trial or just finding out what taking a criminal or civil case might involve, we are here for you. It is never too late to get information, help and support. The National R**e Crisis Helpline, run by our trained counsellors, is open 24 hours a day at 1800 77 8888 and we are here to listen.

Thank you, Derek, for sharing your story.

01/09/2026

We’re getting ready for the 12 September demonstration against Trump. Help us make the message impossible to miss.

Join us in Dublin city centre (location TBC) on Saturday 5 September for an afternoon of placard making from 2pm-4pm. We’ll provide the boards, paint and brushes; you bring your ideas, your creativity and whatever you want to say.

No artistic skills required! Just come along, make something bold, and get ready to carry it on 12 September.

Places are limited and will be allocated first come, first served. Sign up with us for details: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/protest-trump-with-dublin-r**e-crisis-centre-tickets-1997458564336

31/08/2026

Today Virgin Media News ports that a former Meta executive is urging the Government to work with women's groups on the harassment and privacy risks of the company's smart glasses.

As the report notes, Dublin R**e Crisis Centre has described these devices as the latest tool in an epidemic of covert filming and harassment, and has called for specific legislation. Norway is coming out ahead after announcing stricter regulation of smart glasses, including a possible ban on facial recognition in public.

Ireland must act too. As our CEO Rachel Morrogh has said: "The question of how to stop covert recordings of women and girls is not for women and girls to answer. Restricting our lives is not an acceptable response to men's violence against us." We believe covert recording that is s*xualising in nature or purpose should be a specific offence in Irish law.

"Ease of access to these devices means that this form of harm is likely to become even more prevalent. They are very much part of a social environment in which women particularly are being debased, dehumanised and demeaned."

Thank you to Richard Chambers, Virgin Media News Ireland and Ireland AM , and to Ellen O'Riordan at The Irish Times, for using journalism to bring this issue into the open.

If you have been affected by s*xual violence, the Dublin R**e Crisis Centre National 24-hour Helpline is free and confidential: 1800 77 8888.

29/08/2026

Po*******hy is shaping what young people expect from s*x. It can also shape what they want.

'Let's Chat: Your Child's Life Online' is a free course from Dublin R**e Crisis Centre that will help you understand some of what your child is seeing online and how to talk to them about it.

Try it now: https://www.drcc.ie/services/education-training/elearning-hub/

Po*******hy is readily available to a lot of young people, on po*******hy websites, as well as on being suggested on social media. Some young people watch p**nographic videos and gifs as a way to find out how s*x and relationships work.

Po*******hy does not present a realistic version of relationships or s*x because it is a performance. It often portrays s*x as violent, forced and dangerous. It’s important for anyone who sees po*******hy, whether on purpose or by accident, to think about and understand how and why it was made, and how it is different from the kind of s*x they would like to have.

The p**n industry commercialises and profits from harm and continue to operate with impunity.

Until Governments act bravely and regulate violent p**n, you cannot supervise every screen, but you can be the person who puts it in context and support people at whom dangerous content is pushed. Our online course is self-guided and takes just 45 minutes. It is one of three free courses we have just launched, alongside 'Introduction to Consent' and 'Misconceptions About Sexual Violence'.

Start today: https://www.drcc.ie/services/education-training/elearning-hub/

28/08/2026

Drug facilitated s*xual violence has been receiving a lot of attention in the news, in Ireland and elsewhere. This profound violation of autonomy is all the more distressing as it can often be committed by someone intimately trusted by the survivor.

If reading or hearing about it has affected you, that is a natural response to something truly horrifying. It does not matter whether what comes up relates to something recent or something from long ago, or whether you have ever spoken about it. Whatever it has brought up for you, you do not have to carry it alone. You do not need to be certain about what happened, or ready to do anything about it, to reach out. We will listen.

We are also here for anyone worried about someone they love.

Our 24-Hour National Helpline is free and confidential on 1800 77 8888

27/08/2026

An old one but a good one. "Look at what she's wearing. She's asking for it."

Muriel's 90-second BBC Three sketch takes that line at its word: if clothes can ask for things, a sharp suit gets you a promotion at a company you don't work for, and a sarong gets you a holiday mid-shift.

The video comes from Muriel Comedy - Sally O Leary Janine Harouni and Meg Salter, directed by Andrew Nolan for BBC3.

The joke lands because the idea it mocks never made sense. Clothes are not consent, and the only person responsible for s*xual violence is the person who commits it.

The Dublin R**e Crisis Centre National Helpline is here 24 hours a day, free and confidential: 1800 77 8888.

Enjoy:

Over 130 million views Sketch for BBC STUDIOS and BBC THREE Directed, shot and edited by ANDREW NOLAN Written and performed by MURIEL who are JANINE HAROUNI SALLY O’LEARY and MEG SALTER Production Assistant ROBYN MACRORY-BEAUMONT Additional cast JOE BARNES HENRY PERRYMENT BATHSHEBA PIEPE MATT RAY ...

26/08/2026

"When a flower grows wild, it can always survive." Dolly Parton, 1946 to 2026

Dolly spent six decades singing from the inside about the struggles that beset people in poverty, especially women, and that leave them vulnerable to exploitation, as well as the double standards around female s*xuality that enable abuse and victim blaming. Her directness about female experiences sometimes made the industry flinch: Radio would not play Down from Dover, and A Gamble Either Way was cut from the film it was written for.

Many survivors have found and will continue to find catharsis in the music and persona of this powerful female icon. She will be missed.

If you have been affected by s*xual violence at any time in your life, Dublin R**e Crisis Centre's National 24-Hour Helpline is free and confidential: 1800 77 8888.

25/08/2026

We were pleased to see today's editorial on our new research into positive models of masculinity.

The project, commissioned by Dublin R**e Crisis Centre's , will examine how men understand and experience masculinity, and how their ideas about status, risk and acceptable behaviour are shaped by peers, family, media, online spaces and sport. It aims to identify the attitudes and social norms that can contribute to harmful behaviours, including s*xual violence, as well as those that protect against them.

What sets this project apart is its starting point. Rather than framing men primarily as a risk to be managed, it asks what masculinity can be: reflective, supportive and emotionally literate. The findings will inform our We-Consent campaign and, as the Examiner notes, will matter to anyone working in education, justice, youth services and policy.

The research begins next month, with the final report due in January.

If you have been affected by s*xual violence, our free and confidential 24-hour national helpline is available on 1800 77 8888.

24/08/2026

Our CEO Rachel Morrogh spoke to Ireland AM this morning about smart glasses and the harm they are already causing to women and girls.

"When you get filmed by these glasses, there's no consent. Women and girls particularly are being filmed, they're appearing online, and as if the video itself wasn't bad enough, you only need to look at the comments."

Many of the women who appear in these videos don't even know they have been filmed. People can make recording on the glasses very hard to detect, and the footage is shared and picked over online.

"We really need to ask, what is the marginal benefit? For wider society, we are paying a massive cost, and the burden of that cost is being carried by women and girls. We are seeing their world get smaller and smaller."

Dublin R**e Crisis Centre has serious concerns about these products. Recording is almost impossible to detect, so many women never know they were filmed until footage is picked over online to demean and humiliate them. Covert devices send a clear message about power: that men can watch, record and control women's images in public without their knowledge, and use them as they wish.

"How many times have we looked at tech come onto the market and seen that it's harmful, but it's already being used and harming people? Regulation can't keep pace with tech, so let’s make sure that safety by design is one of the core components before anything comes to market."

There is currently no legislation in Ireland that criminalises covert recordings taken in public using this technology. As Rachel put it, "When it comes to tech there are increasing instances where the public needs the politicians to be much quicker to step in and not just allow us to be served up to those who wish to do us harm."

If you have been affected by s*xual violence, the Dublin R**e Crisis Centre’s 24-hour National Helpline is free and confidential on 1800 77 8888.

23/08/2026

A person's dress or behaviour is never the cause of or justification for an assault.

'Misconceptions About Sexual Violence' is a free, self-guided online course from Dublin R**e Crisis Centre that takes apart the myths that persist about s*xual violence, and this is one of the most stubborn. Start now: https://www.drcc.ie/services/education-training/elearning-hub/

It might feel more comforting to believe that if we dress and behave a certain way, we can protect ourselves. The evidence does not support it. A study published in the Journal of International Women's Studies in 2010 found no correlation between a revealing form of dress and any type of s*xual victimisation.

The Not Consent exhibition, held in Dublin in 2021, made the same point in a different way. It displayed the clothes victims and survivors were wearing when they were assaulted: T-shirts, tracksuits, dresses, shirts, jeans, pyjamas, school uniforms and holy communion dresses.

The common factor in those cases is not what victims and survivors were wearing. It is what perpetrators chose to do.

'Misconceptions About Sexual Violence' is free, online and self-guided. It is one of three free courses we have just launched, alongside ‘Let’s Chat: Your Child’s Life Online’ and ‘Introduction to Consent’.

Start today: https://www.drcc.ie/services/education-training/elearning-hub/