This article appeared in The Mayo News on Tuesday, July 2, 2024.

The country is up in arms over the suspended sentence doled out to soldier Cathal Crotty for his violent assault of Natasha O’Brien. 24 year old Natasha, meanwhile, is criticising not just the sentence itself, but the manner in which it was dispensed, the reasons given to justify it, and the insensitivity with which her case was handled by Judge Tom O’Donnell. In recent days she has led an incredibly impressive, commendable and articulate campaign to change how victims are treated in courts, describing how her own treatment retraumatised her.