(NI) Sexual offences: more privacy for victims and suspects

[NitroNine]

Good morning - & for once I think/hope it is good, as Northern Ireland, despite the still-stalled Stormont, sees new laws come into force this morning that will put it ahead of the rest of the UK in protecting both victims of sexual offences; & those suspected but not charged.

Detailed information is available on the Northern Ireland Executive website & there’s coverage on the BBC & in The Independent.

The laws provide for:

• The exclusion of the public from court in serious sexual offence cases, where only those necessary to the effective functioning of the proceedings, and bona fide representatives of the press, will be allowed in the court during Crown Court trials and appeals hearings in the Court of Appeal;
• The extension of existing lifelong anonymity for victims of sexual offending for a period of 25 years after the victim has died;
• Anonymity for suspects in sexual offence cases up to the point of charge. Those not subsequently charged will have anonymity for their lifetime and for 25 years after their death;
• Nothing can be published which leads to the identification of a victim of a sexual offence, or a suspect in a sexual offence case. Those who breach the anonymity provisions face up to six months’ imprisonment.

I’m hoping that - as well as protecting the wrongly accused - the protections for suspects will knock down the defence of an individual having been tried by media. Certainly their being charged due to media/public pressure isn’t going to wash any more; & reporting restrictions once someone has been charged mean the prosecution can deal with that satisfactorily.

Extending victims’ anonymity beyond death is a welcome move too. The vulture journalists might even let people rest peacefully.

Feels like a rare win (not only for women & girls of course) when compared to the change to Scottish law that saw a 21yo given a Community Payback order for raping a 13yo girl.

Thanks for posting that info OP, I had no idea that this was coming into effect what with the situation at Stormont. I was horrified at the way the trial of the rugby players (in 2018) was managed and these new protections for sexual assault victims seem to have addressed issues arising from that.

I’d thought it would be [indefinitely] Stalled Due To Stormont Situation too @UtopiaPlanitia so it was a pleasant surprise to see it on the BBC.

BelTel initial coverage didn’t really add anything; but the follow-up article last night went with the headline New NI anonymity laws ‘would have prevented reporting of Savile allegations’ 🫤 Savile’s crimes were absolutely heinous & it was of course the reporting that encouraged more women to come forward. But the reporting of false allegations caused huge amounts of harm: the families of the dead men being ripped to shreds were targeted. It isn’t an easy balance & certainly there’s no simple answer, but I think that the decision that’s been made is the correct one.

The lofty claim the media has a duty to investigate and report on legitimate and serious allegations on behalf of the public (made by Dawn Alford, executive director of The Society of Editors) doesn’t ring quite so true when you look at the salacious way historic allegations have been reported.