Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre stated it was concerned about the way in which trials for rape are conducted. It fears that victims will now be further deterred from reporting rape. The statement also referred to the "opening up [of] a wider debate on the meaning of rape and the meaning of consent". Does the Government share those concerns? Arising from events yesterday, can there now be a transformation in this whole issue and how we relate to it? The much publicised case highlighted what rape is. It is sex without consent. Consent should be looked for. It should be actively sought and not assumed. Submission is not consent. Is there any other crime where a person is expected to yell, shout or ask for help to prove he or she did not consent to something? A person may be frozen. All of these are normal and real responses. They are not consent. Consent should involve active agreement between two people. Anything less is not acceptable.

We need to challenge the attitudes and the sexist culture that is leading to these views being held. Does the Government agree that such a conversation is now needed in Irish society and that it could start among the young? If so, is the Government now willing to fund a sex education programme in our schools, where the issue of consent is at its very core? Does the Government now agree that we need to look at sexual crime in this State, and to spend the money needed to conduct another report along the lines of the sexual abuse and violence in Ireland, SAVI, report into its scale? Does the Government agree that if we are really worried about the low level of reporting of rape, measures must be taken to make the process easier for victims?

We must end the average waiting time of 33 months before a case will get to court. What level of fortitude do we expect from rape victims? We have to give representation to victims to help them deal with such an adversarial court process. How is it acceptable for a complainant's clothes to be passed around the jury as evidence of their consent? How is the sexual experience of any complainant relevant and why is it brought up in more than a third of cases in the Irish State? Why has the Government not acted on provisions on sections of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017, which would afford vulnerable witnesses and children protection against adversarial cross-examination, for example through video-link? Consent was defined in that Act. Many of us lobbied for it to be defined in it. However, no training has yet been given to judges, lawyers or even juries.

As we speak, people are gathering in cities and towns around this State. They are gathering in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Carlow and all over the State to stand with victims of rape and sexual assault at 12.30 p.m.

The protests arise from the #MeToo movement and the culture it has generated among young people. Is the Government going to take this as seriously as the people who are gathering?

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