Mayo woman encourages survivors to speak out about sexual assault and rape

Castlebar woman Ciara Mangan has spoken on national radio about the supports that are available to survivors of rape and sexual assault. 

In an interview on Newstalk, she said that “just telling someone really does relieve a lot of the burden that you’re carrying on your own. You never have to carry this on your own and even by just making a statement to the guards, that’s you taking back some of your power and trying to hold this person accountable.”

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Mangan highlighted the importance of “having the support as well of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centres or other rape crisis centres” in the aftermath of experiencing sexual abuse and rape. 

The Newstalk segment reported on the lack of prosecutions that are made in instances of sexual assault and rape. 

The investigation found that almost 18,000 sexual offence cases were referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) by the gardaí over the past decade – but the majority of the cases (67%) did not result in prosecutions. 

The reason given for the lack of prosecution in sexual violence cases is that the burden of proof for these cases (as with all criminal cases) is very high and they are often difficult to prove in court. 

Mangan commented: “If the DPP does come back and say that they’re not going to prosecute, it doesn’t mean that you weren’t believed and it doesn’t mean that it didn’t happen, and it doesn’t mean that you can’t find some peace and justice in other ways down the line as well.” 

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In May 2013, Ciara Mangan was raped by 30-year-old Shane Noonan of Turlough Road in Castlebar at a house party in the town.

The Mayo woman has since founded an organisation to help survivors of sexual assault and rape called Beyond Surviving. 

She has also spoken at the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. 

If you’ve been affected by any of the issues discussed in this article, please contact the Rape Crisis Centre’s national 24-hour helpline on 1800 77 88 88, or visit rapecrisishelp.ie.