Calls for anonymity for all parties in NI rape trials
A leading sexual abuse charity is calling for all parties to be kept anonymous in rape trials, unless a guilty verdict is reached.
Helena Bracken from Nexus NI said the intense scrutiny surrounding the recent high profile case involving Ulster and Ireland stars Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding, along with two other men, had shown the pitfalls for victims.
The two players were accused of raping a women in South Belfast in June 2016, with Jackson further accused of sexual assault.
All four men were found not guilty of all charges.
"I think it would be helpful for all parties concerned," Ms Bracken said.
"Unfortunately now with social media, practically everything is revealed.
"There's been so much out there on social media and I don't think that's been helpful.
"So for all concerned, I think anonymity is certainly something to consider."
Another option put forward was for jurors to receive specific training on the ways in which trauma from an event like a serious sexual assault, can affect behaviour.
Meanwhile, Louise Kennedy from Women's Aid revealed the spotlight put on the case has had an impact on potential victims coming forward.
She said they had taken numerous calls where the person said they would never come forward to report a sexual crime now because of what the woman in this high profile trial was forced to go through.
"I think we need to take a really serious look at the criminal justice system and how it treats sexual violence cases, how it treats victims of rape and we need to do better for victims of rape," she said,
The solicitor Joe McVeigh, who represented Paddy Jackson, spoke after the not guilty verdict was reached and called for a system like the ROI's to be implemented.
That would mean all parties remain anonymous unless a guilty verdict is reached.
He was also heavily critical of the way social media had been awash with information, speculation and factually incorrect claims throughout the trial, saying it negativley affected all involved.
"Vile commentary, expressed on social media, going well beyond fair comment has polluted the sphere of public discourse and raised real concerns about the integrity of the trial process," he said.
"Several days of this trial were lost due to problems thrown up by the intrusive infection of the process by social media.
"All the lawyers had been distracted by having to man the barriers against a flood of misinformed, misconceived and malicious content on the internet, particularly during the last phase of this trial."