Mayo woman to speak at UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women

NEXT Monday, Ciara Mangan will address the UN on behalf of the Beyond Surviving organisation.

The Castlebar woman will be part of an Irish delegation at the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. Beyond Surviving will be alongside other NGOs such as Pavee Point and the National Women’s Council in delivering a presentation to the committee in Geneva.

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Ms Mangan told The Mayo News that “Beyond Surviving is thrilled to be selected for a speaking slot at this event, to amplify the silenced voices of survivors in Ireland.”

She will use her speech to campaign for a change in the law to ensure that counselling notes would not be used in sexual offence trials.

Ms Mangan was among a group of survivors to meet with the Minister of Justice last month to lobby for a change in the law in this area.

‘Sophie’s Choice’

CURRENTLY in this country, private counselling notes can be ordered to be disclosed to the defence in sexual offence trials.

For victims this creates a ‘Sophie’s Choice’, she explains, as you question should you consider your pursuit of justice and sacrifice your privacy?

The accused, their counsel, judge and defence barristers “can read through your most vulnerable notes from counselling, and it's an extreme violation of our privacy.”

“Counselling should be a place for healing and confidentiality. But actually, when we go to counselling, we're actually nearly pinning ourselves up against the wall, because our words will then be flipped and used against us in court.

“We don't believe that counselling notes are relevant for a fair trial. They are necessary to survivors for their health. And survivors, as it stands, are choosing either to drop their trial because they want to go to counselling or they're stopping counselling. So in my case, I just stopped going to counselling altogether.”

Balancing constitutional rights is at the core of this issue as it pits the accused’s right to a fair trial against the victim’s rights privacy, healthcare and justice.

Founding Beyond Surviving

CIARA founded Beyond Surviving in 2023 and it got charity recognition last year.

She is a proud survivor herself. She was raped by 30-year-old Shane Noonan of Turlough Road in Castlebar, Co Mayo, at a party in May 2013.

“The survivors themselves lead and guide and shape the whole organisation from top to bottom. They're the real voice and that means you're addressing the real needs of survivors and what they tell you they need and their priorities as you progress.”

The services it offers include connection, self-advocacy, healing support and empowerment.

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Ms Mangan said the aim of Beyond Surviving is “really extending and complementing the already existing Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence services. We're really targeting survivors and victims who have progressed beyond crisis. So that means that a lot of them would have already accessed rape crisis center organisations, for example.”

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A full interview with Ciara Mangan will be featured in next week’s edition of The Mayo News.