Debate contribution: Troubles-related Sexual Crimes and Child Sexual Abuse

Debate contribution by Mrs Linda Dillon on 17 February 2026.

MLA

Mrs Linda Dillon

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

17 February 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Troubles-related Sexual Crimes and Child Sexual Abuse

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5395008

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I begin by acknowledging the harm and trauma that was endured by all those who have suffered sexual violence, whether that was during the conflict or outside of it. Without exception, it was wrong, cruel and should not have happened. Crimes of rape, child sexual abuse, sexualised assault and many other intimate violations that were used to coerce, threaten or degrade anyone are among the most intrusive and devastating harms that anyone can endure. Where such allegations still exist, the PSNI should and must investigate. The impact of such abuse endures for a lifetime. For far too long, victims of sexual violence that happened during the conflict have been among the least heard in our society. That is not acceptable. We must support victims to break their silence.

I absolutely do agree with that. It has been said many times in the Chamber and needs to keep being repeated. While we are concerned about the direction of travel with the legacy Bill and the prioritisation of the needs of British state forces over victims, my party and I will support the motion. I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate and discussion on overlooked crimes. We know that many victims were silenced by fear. We also know that many others were failed by the state institutions that should have protected them and did not. Many crimes also went unreported at a time when there was little confidence in state authorities and for fear that information would be used for other purposes; indeed, at a time when the state itself was carrying out abuses. In 2026, we have a responsibility to ensure that the full range of those harmful and intrusive experiences of sexual abuse are acknowledged and that the proper support services are in place. Turning to the present context of legacy and the ongoing Westminster legislative process, we genuinely need to ask ourselves whether, if we are serious about healing the wounds of the past, we are ready to lift the lid on all intimate and invasive harms that were suffered during the conflict period. Dealing with sexual abuse in a legacy context means that we also need to talk about abuse in institutional settings. The indignity and violations of strip-searching, forced washes, intimate searches and mirror searches were common practice in Long Kesh, Armagh Gaol, Maghaberry prison and other prisons on these islands. Strip-searching in a prison environment is a tool of intimidation and domination. It was an intimate and brutal violation and was carried out on thousands of prisoners, including young prisoners who were under the age of 18. It was mainstream and constitutes a grave human rights violation in every credible legal framework that is available to us. It also means that those who were tortured and suffered harm of an intimate nature in interrogation centres must have their voices heard. There needs to be a thorough investigation into the serious allegations of abuse of young boys in Kincora boys' home, where growing evidence shows that British state intelligence agencies embedded known paedophiles. Why were such practices covered up? Complaints that were made about the failure of police to investigate allegations of sexual abuse in the Belfast boys' home were legitimate and justified, as the Police Ombudsman highlighted in 2022. Clearly, had the RUC taken appropriate action at that time, many young boys would not have been abused.

Answers are needed as to why the RUC did not act on information provided to it from 1973 to 1976.

Under article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, sexual violence is categorically understood as:

" torture or ... inhuman or degrading treatment".

It carries with it an absolute duty on the state to investigate, provide accountability and ensure that victims have access to justice. That obligation does not fade with time. The women, peace and security framework, including UN Security Council resolution 1325 and its successors, demands that conflict-related sexual violence be recognised, investigated and addressed as a distinct and serious harm. Those commitments apply in full here. There is no room for ambiguity and no justification for exclusion. I will conclude by making it clear that we are committed to ensuring that the rights of all victims are respected and upheld. No harm inflicted by anyone on anyone can be minimised. Sinn Féin believes that any credible legacy mechanism must explicitly examine all harms, including those of a sexual nature. Only legacy structures that are grounded in human rights principles and that command confidence will provide victims with reassurance that their voices will be heard and their experiences acknowledged. That goes across the board for everybody. As the proposer of the motion said, sexual offences that were carried out against anyone in the past by anyone can and should be investigated by the PSNI. It does not need to wait for the legislation. However, we absolutely support the sentiment of the motion. Victims of rape or child abuse do not have to wait. I encourage anyone who has been a victim of abuse to come forward to the PSNI without delay, because they deserve justice, and those responsible deserve to be punished.

858 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:52 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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