STATEMENT ON THE CONVICTION OF JEFFREY DONALDSON

22 June 2026 - WRDA welcomes the conviction today of Jeffrey Donaldson on a number of sexual offences against two children, as we welcome the conviction of any person who has committed such offences. We thank the jury, the court, the PPS and the PSNI for their diligent work on this case.

This case highlights a number of issues around the difficulties that survivors face, and how much this is exacerbated when their abuser holds a position of influence and power in society. This is not a political story, however it is naïve to suggest that political power does not contribute to the already long list of barriers faced by survivors considering making a report.

We also want to highlight some of the more subtle rape myths that were heard throughout the trial and which were reported upon in the media, particularly the suggestion that a survivor who cannot be absolutely firm about dates and does not have precise recall – even when the incidents occurred decades ago and the survivor was a child at the time - is therefore inventing the allegations. Similarly, the suggestion that a person who does not report immediately or swiftly after the event, or who does not exhibit obvious changes in behaviour, is not credible is also a rape myth.

These are the kinds of myths that make it very difficult for victims to come forward, particularly when they know that their memory of events is not perfect, sometimes because of the passage of time and often because of trauma. High profile trials like these are opportunities to challenge the myths that often curtail reporting and they should be challenged at every opportunity. We commend efforts by the Department of Justice to meet that need with an awareness campaign launched earlier this year, but we believe that this work needs to be more sustained and robust, and to move beyond awareness campaigns. We again emphasise that there are as yet un-actioned recommendations in the Gillen Review that would address this, highlighted by Judge Gillen as a key recommendation: “Amendments to the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 to ensure juries do not bring sexual stereotypes into play and to impose a discernible shift towards a measure of affirmative expression of consent.” These recommendations are now seven years overdue.

Our thoughts are with the victims in this case, who have been incredibly brave to bring this forward, to give evidence and to face down their abuser in court. We wish them the very best in their recovery and with their future.

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