Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

A damning and disturbing report published yesterday by Rape Crisis Network Ireland, RCNI, raises the issue of the role of alcohol misuse in acts of sexual violence. We are all aware that there is a major problem of alcohol abuse in our society. As we enter the festive season, evidence of that will, unfortunately, show up at huge cost in waiting rooms and hospitals throughout the country.

RCNI provides an excellent service to people who are subjected to one of the most serious crimes in our society. Its latest report issues a stark warning that our refusal to tackle binge drinking has contributed to the incidence of acts of sexual violence, predominantly against women. According to Alcohol Action Ireland, 76% of all rape defendants had been drinking at the time of the alleged offence. In addition, RCNI's research shows that alcohol not only plays a large part in sex attacks but also skews attitudes to both victims and perpetrators. It is a grossly unfair paradox that victims who consumed alcohol prior to being assaulted are often assumed to bear greater responsibility for the ordeal of the sexual crime committed against them while, on the other hand, perpetrators who consumed alcohol are somehow assumed to hold less responsibility for their actions than perpetrators who were sober when the crime was committed. This prevailing attitude towards perpetrators and victims, respectively, is a cause for great concern.

Last week's budget included a raft of measures in regard to alcohol, including a timely and appropriate increase in VAT. I am disappointed, however, that we have not seen action on proposals for a regime of minimum pricing. It is intolerable that large retail multiples which engage in below-cost selling are entitled to a VAT rebate on such sales. While I acknowledge that my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Alex White, is keen to bring forward a minimum pricing strategy, I am concerned at the rather non-committal answer given on this matter by the Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly, in response to a recent parliamentary question. Vague suggestions that something will be done at the earliest opportunity are simply not good enough.

The role played by the misuse of alcohol in sexual violence must be addressed if we are to meet our human rights obligations. That is the kernel of the issue. The executive director of RCNI, Ms Fiona Neary, said yesterday that there was a relationship between prevailing attitudes to women, sex and alcohol consumption and decisions to carry out acts of sexual violence. As she outlined in a submission to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality earlier this year, the impact of alcohol consumption patterns in our culture, combined with victim blaming, can leave young people vulnerable to sexual violence. Research shows that 45% of rape complainants and 40% of suspects in this country were binge drinking before the incident of sexual assault. That is a stark and disturbing figure.

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