15 April 1999 Edition
RUC fails to act to public assault
The RUC failed to respond to a violent attack on a 19-year-old Downpatrick woman by her former boyfriend which happened in full view of surveillance cameras and an RUC squad car, Sinn Féin Down District councillor, Paddy McGreevy has revealed.
``The RUC's reaction to the public assault on this young woman has parallels with their reaction to the murder of Robert Hamill in Portadown,'' he said. The woman's ex-boyfriend, subject to a restraining order banning him from contacting the woman and their three-year-old child, assaulted her as she walked along Church Street with her mother on Saturday evening, 3 April.
During the assault, one member of the RUC temporarily stepped out of the squad car to look before getting back in and driving away. Afterwards, the young woman's mother went to Downpatrick RUC barracks, where she was informed that nobody knew anything about the RUC squad car. She was also dismissed by an RUC `community relations officer' and told that ``there are two sides to every story''.
``The RUC's reaction to this public assault is typical of that institutionally sexist paramilitary force,'' said Paddy McGreevy. ``Women are the majority community in the North but comprise only 10% of the RUC. This paramilitary force is violently macho. Sexually explicit material and profane language pervade its military institutions, and the RUC's sexist attitude displays itself further in its reaction to crimes against women. As we await the recommendations of the Patten Commission, it is important to remind ourselves of what women need from a new policing service.''
``The RUC's reaction to the public assault on this young woman has parallels with their reaction to the murder of Robert Hamill in Portadown,'' he said. The woman's ex-boyfriend, subject to a restraining order banning him from contacting the woman and their three-year-old child, assaulted her as she walked along Church Street with her mother on Saturday evening, 3 April.
During the assault, one member of the RUC temporarily stepped out of the squad car to look before getting back in and driving away. Afterwards, the young woman's mother went to Downpatrick RUC barracks, where she was informed that nobody knew anything about the RUC squad car. She was also dismissed by an RUC `community relations officer' and told that ``there are two sides to every story''.
``The RUC's reaction to this public assault is typical of that institutionally sexist paramilitary force,'' said Paddy McGreevy. ``Women are the majority community in the North but comprise only 10% of the RUC. This paramilitary force is violently macho. Sexually explicit material and profane language pervade its military institutions, and the RUC's sexist attitude displays itself further in its reaction to crimes against women. As we await the recommendations of the Patten Commission, it is important to remind ourselves of what women need from a new policing service.''