Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests. It has been rather difficult to sit and listen to them outline the crisis facing women in Ukraine and, in fact, in all areas of conflict but it is absolutely necessary that we have these conversations and that they continue outside this forum.

I could not agree more with Ms Flanagan that women's voices in civil society need to be heard but they need to be heard in other places too, namely, in the planning and decision-making process which Ms El Khyari mentioned. They need to be heard not only during conflict but after it. When conflict moves on to the period of rebuilding, women's voices need to be at the decision-making tables. We cannot condone any backtracking on gender equality in any shape or form. Lord knows, those we have made were hard won and they should not be rowed back on either through conflict or through Covid.

I will start with an issue raised by Ms El Khyari around trafficking and sexual and gender-based violence. In respect of those who are leaving Ukraine, what feedback has Ms El Khyari received on their experience of those with whom they first interact and to whom they make a disclosure of sexual violence as a weapon of war? It is an issue I am quite concerned about. We have very talented and dedicated people who work with victims of sexual abuse and violence here. However, there is another aspect to that when that sexual violence has been used as a weapon of war. It creates an additional layer of trauma that needs to be addressed with very specific and professional care to enable that person to heal fully. Then there is the question of capacity, whereby those services would be capable of taking on and meeting the very high-level needs of those who have experienced that.

On those who are internally displaced within Ukraine, Ms El Khyari spoke of the training up of smaller groups. It is a fantastic idea and something I very much welcome. It is something we need to see more of. She also mentioned the online platform for psychological and legal aspects. There is psychological support and legal support but how is the conflict impacting on those people's ability to access medical care?

Specifically on trafficking, looking into the future and family reunification for those who have been trafficked, what must be put in place now for that to be as successful as possible?