A retired female Irish army corporal has said she was raped by a more senior member of the Defence Forces while serving overseas.
Roslyn O'Callaghan said the attack was carried out by a senior non-commissioned officer while she was serving as a private in the late 1990s.
She was speaking to Upfront with Katie Hannon in the wake of the publication last week of the damning report by the Independent Review Group into equality and dignity issues in the Defence Forces.
It found that "neither men nor women in the Defence Forces are working in a safe environment" and that it "barely tolerates" women.
In her first media interview, Ms O'Callaghan said the incident happened after she attended an off-base drinks party.
"I want to go home"
— Upfront with Katie Hannon (@RTEUpfront) April 3, 2023
Roslyn O'Callaghan, who is a retired Irish army corporal recalls her experience during a military hearing after she made an allegation of rape against a more senior member of the Defence Forces #RTEUpfront pic.twitter.com/RqYByqRCqm
She said she became violently ill after drinking "too much," and recalls being put into the recovery position in a colleague’s bed as she couldn’t gain access to her own room.
It was around this point, Ms O’Callaghan says she was attacked.
"I remember waking up. I remember this man kissing me. I can remember my shorts being taken off me and my underwear. I remember this man having sex.
"I describe it as if there was an angel looking over me trying to wake me up. I knew there was something happening, but I couldn't stop it. I wasn't able to fight," Ms O’Callaghan said.
The attack was reported to two senior officers by Ms O’Callaghan the following morning.
With no emergency rape kit on the base, an ambulance was arranged by a Defence Forces’ medical officer to transfer her to a civilian hospital for assessment.
When she returned, Ms O’Callaghan’s said her attacker attempted to contact her.
"He wanted to come up and apologise and to see was I ok," she said.
Ms O’Callaghan, who had celebrated her 21st birthday in the weeks before the attack, then made a statement to the military police.
Several weeks after giving her statement, she was informed that her attacker would not be charged with rape on the basis that the forensic exam carried out in the civilian hospital had failed to produce any evidence of physical injury.
"I couldn't believe this. I didn't know who to trust. I was always of the opinion that the army will look after me. They'll believe me. How wrong I was," she said.
Ms O’Callaghan believes the investigation into her assault was flawed.
The alleged attacker was ultimately disciplined for several more minor offences, including sexual conduct by an officer with a lower ranking member of the force.
"He denied the fact that he raped me. He keeps saying it was consensual," Ms O'Callaghan said.
"I had an out of body experience"
— Upfront with Katie Hannon (@RTEUpfront) April 3, 2023
Roslyn O Callaghan tells Katie Hannon about the night she was sexually assaulted during a tour of duty while serving as a member of the Irish Defence Forces. #RTEUpfront pic.twitter.com/cs2WUNToVa
He was fined £175 and a severe reprimand was added to his military record. Years later, he retired with a full pension.
After returning to Ireland, Ms O’Callaghan reported the incident to An Garda Síochána. She said she was told they could not pursue the allegations as the incident had happened outside their jurisdiction.
"When I came home, it was very hard to adapt and to integrate into the unit again. I became very isolated. I had no confidence. I was paranoid," she said.
Following a suicide attempt in 2001, Ms O’Callaghan was admitted to Cork University Hospital (CUH) and referred to a military psychiatrist for assessment.
She was diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but said she was not informed of the diagnosis by the Defence Forces.
She was later redeployed overseas, but had to be repatriated before her tour was due end.
Fifteen years after the initial diagnosis, Ms O’Callaghan was assessed by a civilian doctor, who also concluded she was suffering with PTSD.
This led to her to request a copy of her medical records file from the Defence Forces through Freedom of Information (FOI) request.
She was medically discharged in 2017.
"I knew for years that there was something wrong with me because I couldn't interact socially. I was just going to work for the sake of going. I suffered for 15 years in silence," she said.
In 2016 Ms O'Callaghan was contacted via a Facebook message by another woman who had also served in the Defence Forces.
The woman told her that she had been raped by the same man.
"It was in similar circumstances to my own. She doesn't know was her drink spiked. She told me that she had reported it to the (military) authorities. She's still struggling to this day.
"Not only has he destroyed my life. He destroyed someone else's. And he still gets to walk the streets."
Roslyn’s full interview with Katie Hannon is available as a podcast here or wherever you get your podcasts. An edited version of her interview featured on Upfront with Katie Hannon on RTÉ One television on Monday night. Watch it here.
