Mr. John Doyle:

There is a concern if we speak about perpetrators as if they are a group of men from Mars. These are our fathers, brothers, uncles and men in the community. It is obvious to ask why we do not engage with perpetrators to ascertain why they behave in this way. There is an assumption that perpetrators have no interest in change, which is a dangerous belief. I respectfully disagree with Mr. Hennessy that these people are simply sociopathic liars. For various reasons, with some linked to trauma, these men act in a certain way. Studies indicate how early trauma experience can lead to very inappropriate behaviour in later life. We would be making a fundamental mistake if we put perpetrators outside the room and did not engage on what is at the root of the behaviour. We have certainly done that.