A CONSTITUTIONAL amendment to restore the offence of statutory rape is highly unlikely following the publication of the report of the Oireachtas Committee on an Amendment on Children. Most of the committee, comprising members of Fianna Fáil and the Labour Party, does not recommend the holding of a referendum, favouring amending the law instead.
Minister of State for Children Barry Andrews said yesterday at the launch of the report that this was also his personal view, but the matter would have to be discussed by the Cabinet before a decision was made.
But Alan Shatter said Fine Gael believed it was urgent that a constitutional referendum be held to allow the people decide whether there should be new legislation to reinstate a statutory rape offence, to which there could be no defence of “mistake as to age”. Fine Gael published its own report on the issue yesterday, outlining legislative proposals that would provide for “an absolute zone of protection” for all children under 15 and for children between 15 and 18 where the sexual contact came from someone in authority.
Sinn Féin committee member Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said that he also favoured a constitutional amendment to reinstate a “zone of absolute protection” in all cases where the child was under 14.
Introducing the report, committee chair Mary O’Rourke said that the view of the majority was to proceed on a legislative basis. The report also suggests that the President should refer any such new law to the Supreme Court to ensure its compliance with the Constitution, in the light of the Supreme Court having struck down the offence of statutory rape in its ruling in the CC case.
Brendan Howlin said that, in light of the evidence given to the committee and a careful reading of the Supreme Court judgment, particularly where it stressed the importance of “mental guilt” in our criminal law system, the Labour Party group had come to the conclusion that there was no compelling reason to set that aside. They therefore supported the majority position that a constitutional amendment should not proceed.
The majority of the committee also recommended that the age of consent be reduced to 16. Mr Shatter said that Fine Gael favoured keeping it at 17.
The committee unanimously recommends a complete review and codification of the law on sexual offences, including: creating a specific offence of “child sexual abuse”; the creation of an offence for adult persons in authority, including those involved in training, to engage in sexual acts with children under the age of 18; and non-discrimination in prosecution on grounds of gender or sexual orientation.
The Children’s Rights Alliance welcomed the report and urged the Government to act on the committee’s recommendations. It also urged the committee to focus on a wording to strengthen children’s rights in the Constitution.
The Iona Institute said it welcomed proposals to protect children from sexual predators, but said that a referendum on children’s rights in the Constitution was not necessary, as these were best protected by parents.
“The Constitution does not prefer parents over children, it prefers parents over third parties such as the Church or State,” its director, David Quinn, said.