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FIGURES RELEASED BY the Rape Crisis Network have detailed the outcome of pregnancies which occured as a result of rape in Ireland.
A total of 1,545 survivors of sexual violence attended rape crisis centres around the country in 2010. Of these, 75 became pregnant as a result of rape.
Forty-three of the women (57 per cent) went on to parent their child. Ten (13 per cent) chose to terminate their pregnancies while ten chose to place their child up for adoption or fostering.
Nine of the women (12 per cent) miscarried or had stillbirths. Three (4 per cent) became pregnant more than once as a result of rape and chose different options in each pregnancy.
“RCNI would have concerns that any rape survivor would be subject to restrictions and would have to travel oversees to another jurisdiction in order to access a termination,” said Fiona Neary, the director of the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland.
The figures were released to coincide with an event organised by the Irish Family Planning Association and the National Women’s Council of Ireland to mark the lack of action on reproductive rights in Ireland in the 20 years since the X case.
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If my girlfriend, my sister, or any of the other females in my life ever had the misfortune of rape-GOD FORBID. I would want them to have the access to terminate the pregnancy. It would be monstrous to expect them to carry the pregnancy to term. It’s their human right to choose.
Based on fact, it’s actually not their right. Under our constitution abortion in Ireland is illegal.
Morally, under certain circumstances, I believe it is their right.
on a connected point, despite the fact that the unborn child is considered under the irish constitution to be a person, with the same legal rights as every other person, they are not accorded the same rights under our tax and welfare systems
There is not one politician in this country that the balls to fight for this cause. They’re too concerned with loosening votes than what’s good for the people of this country. A woman who gets pregnant from rape has been handed down a life sentence, while the rapist gets a suspended sentence because he had ‘a drink problem or a bad childhood or he was abused himself’ or whatever other stupid excuse a slimeball solicitor comes up with. and this is after s/he’s destroyed the victim’s credibility while she was being cross examined. The woman’s body, her choice!
loosening=loosing!
If a woman is raped and becomes pregnant the government has a responsibility to punish the wrong-doer… who is not the child conceived as a result of that rape.
The report tells of 43 children born as a result of rape. Question: Could you look at any of these children in the eye and still believe that the circumstances of their conception would have justified their killing?
That slimeball solicitor provides the defendant a human right.(Right to legal aid) and is under an oath to represent the best interests of the client.
Trying to mitigate the plea of the defendant does not warrant the labeling of a ‘slimeball’.
Just doing his/her job to earn an income.
My aunt has 4 kids, 3 she adores her eldest son she did not bond with at all and they have no relationship at all, he was the result of being raped and it’s terrible I see both sides of the story and its unreal, her son is severally fooked up because of it h
@Soupy it takes a certain kind of person to decide that is the way they want to earn an income.
@ j. Brennan: would you ever be able to look your daughter in the eye – if you never fought for her rights to terminate a pregnancy if she was ever the victim of a brutal rape? Would you be able to stand seeing her prolonged suffering for a circumstance she never asked for? Could you still stand on your moral high ground knowing the psychological distress she bears over the rape compounded by the pregnancy?
“Three became pregnant, as a result of rape, more than once….”
That is frightening.
It won’t ever happen to me, so I’d never feel qualified to decide what I’d do, but it’s incredibly brave of those women who went ahead and raised the baby. I doubt I’d be able to bear it – My hats off to those women.
Unless they had access to 1,000 plus in funds, access to the Internet or a local IFPA and freedom to leave the country they didn’t have a choice but to have the baby. That’s why these figures are being highlighted.
Only 10% having an abortion is a welcome low figure although 75 is a statistically small sample size. Sadly many rape victims don’t report that they’ve been raped.
Low number? I was shocked at how many people this happens to. 75 pregnancies from rape in a single year is HUGE! I was under the impression it was around once a year.
I said statistically small sample size. Different to saying that this isn’t a big issue. IT IS!
How is it welcome that women who do not have the right to choice are forced in irish law to bring to term the product of rape? See how welcome you’d find it in similar circumstances to these women.
I wonder if women who became pregnant as a result of rape did have access to an abortion, without any shame or associated baggage but instead with society’s support, would the figures be different. If their options in this country were different, if instead of feeling outcast they were supported and if they said they wanted an abortion nobody tut tutted but said thats ok, thats their decision and their right. We’ll never know.
how can you any figure?? it is none of our business, the people involved will make a decision for themselves.
should read……how can you welcome any figure…….
Oisin – it’s disgusting to refer to a baby, a person, as a product of rape !
@Poppy If a woman has been raped and impregnated, a baby may be born. This baby is, by definition, a product of rape. Neither the mother or the child have done anything wrong, they should bear no stigma and society should never shun either. Many years ago my mother in law told me she believed many people were born of rape, rape in marraige. She could be right, I don’t know, but the point is the person beside you could be a product of rape. It doesn’t have to define who they are.
I’m disgusted that a baby has been labeled “the product of the rape” in a comment above. Disgusted.
Rape is defined as the unlawful compelling of a person through physical force or duress to have sexual intercourse. It naturally follows that if a child is produced by this then this child is a product of rape, while you may be disgusted by the term, like many, I find rape itself distasteful. Each to their own.
I accept it’s a valid definition but it shows a complete lack of humanism towards unborn babies.
They are human life just like the rest of us.
Yes they are, but its not up to us to decide what is and isn’t right in this situation but rather show compassion for the decision the women in this position have to make. What I find worse here is that women in this country who are raped and would want to have an abortion, even all these years after the X case, can’t have one. Surely a woman who has been raped and decides she wants an abortion should be able to have one, surely its not too much to ask that they not be judged but treated with compassion and their decision respected. I’m placing emphasis on the word compassion, and if a woman says under these circumstances that she’d like an abortion then nobody question her but rather support her. The figures show ten women had to travel abroad for abortions under what must have been difficult circumstances, these should have been available here, given with compassion. This seems to be something very lacking in Ireland today.
I’m disgusted by the fact over 1,500 women attended rape crisis centres last year which is only a fraction of the true number of victims. Maybe the rent an outrage brigade could exercise themselves over that, you know, actual living breathing women rather than hypothetical foetuses.
What’s a hypothetical foetus?
Many of these could be within a marriage.
Obviously I’m not a woman and obviously it’s not the child’s fault, but I could never love something that was the product of a rape. Maybe I’d have the baby, I really don’t know, but I certainly wouldn’t keep it. I’d give it up for adoption. But I am adamant that women should be allowed have the choice whether to have an abortion or not.
my son is the image of his dad, my husband. I could not give birth to a product of rape and have to look at the childs face for the rest of my life. On the other hand introducing abortion for rape victims could be damaging to genuine rape victims as I believe some women would “cry rape” just for abortion, making it even harder than it already is for rape victims
Don’t think women who are raped should have to go through with having the baby. For balance though: Albert Einsteins was conceived due to rape… Food for thought
Really? Not mentioned in his biography.
he probly didnt remember the incident peter
That’s neither true, nor food for thought.
Its a well known urban legend, in fact in its more common form its usually Mozart, not Einstien.
Its also a non-starter as an argument, as I could just as easily argue the likelihood that the child could go on to become the next Hitler…
No woman should be forced to carry a child in these circumstances if she doesn’t want to, its barbaric.
Yeah If you look at my first sentence I say no woman should have to go through with birth after rape. I was merely giving balance to the debate.
Revolting, you do know the difference between a biography and an autobiography don’t you?
A woman who is raped and chooses to have an abortion should not have to travel to avail of this service, she should be cared for medically and psychologically in Ireland. The woman’s ability to make the right decision about what is best for her should be respected in Ireland and all infrastructure needed should be in place. Sadly its not.
while your comment has slight element of truths it is unfair to suggest that figures are bloated. The reason that so many rapes are not called rapes is because the difficulty in prosecution. Horrific as it is for a woman to be raped it is worse that she then has to be violated just to collect evidence from her body in the hopes of collecting evidence and only then, if it see’s the inside of a court its a case of he said, she said. The rape crisis centre is one of the most valuable organizations to irish citizens (dont forget men are raped too) to suggest that they exxagerate figures is deplorable. I would say there figures are not accurate enough due to women who are raped on a daily basis by their partners and do not report it, women who fall victim to date rape by spiked drinks (maybe they cannot remember??) Teenage girls who are raped and then threatened to within an inch of their lives should they report it and finally young kids who just dont know how to ask for help. My advice to you is to think before you make such a definate statement
Now my comments look stupid as his have been removed, just as well though!!
Those poor women. What an awful decision to ever be confronted with.
well if doing your masters has thought you nothing more than to make such broad ridiculous statements I dont know!! Why not go to shelters for statistics? Is that not where victims can be found with vital information for research if they are willing? Throwing in the academic card does not make your point more valid than mine, whilst I am also an academic I did not feel the need to mention it to strenghten my point
Interesting that the pregnant lady in the photo is wearing a wedding-ring. Is that pure chance or is it part of the message?
I have just read the 2011 Annul Report of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre and there is an incredible amount of data there for researchers to mine in an attempt to frame policies for dealing with this appalling tragedy in modern society.
Of 25 pregnancies in that year ten were described as being terminated while six were miscarried and one lost to follow up.
Does use of the so called morning after pill constitute either termination or miscarriage as there is no mention of it and that could only be explained by late presentation. It would be useful to understand what number or proportion of these women presented to sexual assault clinics before being counselled by the Crisis Centre.
There’s no so-called, it’s just the morning after, nor does it qualify as miscarriage or termination as it prevents implantation in the first place. Plenty of rape victims could obtain the morning after without reporting the rape or attending Rape Crisis so these figures are by no means the full story.
‘so-called’ morning after? It’s just the morning after! It’s not an urban legend. The chances are your missus, (if you have one) your mother & your sister (again, if you have one) have all taken it at some stage!!! And I believe the most common practice is to give it to rape victims if the rape is reported on time.
Guess its “so-called” because it can be taken up to 72 hours later… more effective the sooner its taken
1545 survivors of sexual violence reported ….
That is nearly 30 people a week here .I am
absolutely shocked by these figures alone.
Why do we not hear more about these figures ?
This is amazing that 29+ women (Or do these figures
include men too) are attacked in this way per week in
Ireland in 2010
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