Government fails women affected by CervicalCheck scandal

Published: Tuesday, November 24, 2020

The National Women’s Council (NWC) today expressed its deep disappointment at the failure of the State to provide an acceptable, non-adversarial mechanism to seek justice for women affected by the CervicalCheck scandal.

Orla O’Connor, Director of NWC said,

“The CervicalCheck tribunal was supposed to provide a non-adversarial mechanism for women to have their cases heard quickly without having to go through a lengthy court process.

However, the tribunal has yet to hear a single case and it is really concerning to see that the main group representing the women and families affected, 221 Plus, has now said that they see no point in engaging further with the tribunal process as their concerns have not been properly addressed.”

She continued,

“Yet again we are seeing women and their families who have been failed by the State having to fight on and on and hold the State to account on commitments made. This tribunal was an opportunity for the Government to act on their apology and provide a sense of justice and closure to the women and their families. It is extremely concerning that women are saying that they do not have trust in the system.

We urgently need to see our Government finally opening up to the expertise of women affected and devise structures that are informed by their experiences. This will be the only way to rebuild trust and faith in our system.”

Ends/

For more information, please contact Silke Paasche, Head of Communications, NWC, Tel. 085 858 9104.