Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the Members who contributed to the debate. It is apparent from listening to all of them that every Member in the House recognises that we, as legislators, need to try to do more for the victims of sexual assault or sexual abuse. As the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, said, legislative changes have been brought in by the Government which have improved the position.

He referred to the Domestic Violence Act and the other legislation introduced, including the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Act and the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act, which have recently been introduced. We need to recognise that we still face a considerable problem in this country, which is that victims of sexual violence are still hesitant about coming forward to report crimes. That is a problem which we would not tolerate with any other offences and which we would not have with any other offences. As legislators, we need to be guided by the knowledge we have and the best research available to us. It is important that further research is done in this area so that we can be fully aware of the extent of sexual violence that exists in this country. Without that level of knowledge, in many respects, we as legislators are acting a bit in the dark.

One thing we can all be very clear on is that people who are the victims of rape, sexual assault or sexual abuse experience a very traumatic and long-term impact. We need to recognise that part of the problem and reason there is under-reporting of these offences is probably because of the fact many of the victims know their assailants. It is not like a situation exists where the majority of rapes in Ireland are by people jumping out on individuals who they do not know. Most people who are victims of rape or sexual assault know their attackers. That may be part of the reason people are so hesitant about coming forward.

The Minister of State made a number of points in his speech to which I wish to reply. He noted that at present, under the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Act 2017, An Garda Síochána is required to provide victims of crime with information on the criminal justice process. That is correct but I think what we know from the current situation is that people are still hesitant about coming forward to members of An Garda Síochána. They know that they have to go to the gardaí. We need to encourage more people to do so. I believe that if we had a statutory entitlement of an individual to get independent legal advice from a solicitor, it would provide greater support to those persons. The Minister of State referred to how the Legal Aid Board provides service for victims where there is a prosecution for rape or aggravated sexual assault. It is important that we put support systems in place before a decision is made as to whether there should be a prosecution. When an individual makes a complaint, there should be support available from an independent solicitor. There was also a reference to the crucial role played by the rape crisis centres. If this legislation was enacted, support by way of advice from a solicitor would be provided through the structures of the rape crisis centres. I do not believe it would involve a very large cost for the Exchequer. It could be done by increasing the level of financial support that is paid to the rape crisis centres, which play an invaluable role. The Minister of State also referred to the work being done by Mr. O'Malley in NUI Galway. I respect what the Minister of State has said about that. It would be beneficial to await the outcome of his report and I am happy to do so.

Deputy Catherine Connolly said that the Bill is limited. It is limited and there is no one solution which we will be able to come up with that will encourage people to come forward in significant numbers to make complaints about sexual abuse or sexual assault but we need to start identifying small steps that will have an impact.

I conclude by thanking all Members for their support. We need to recognise that although there has been an increase in the reporting of sexual offences, many of us think that is due to the fact that people, particularly women, are becoming more self-confident about reporting these offences. We have to be careful because there is another potential explanation which is far more worrying. My colleague, Deputy Eugene Murphy, referred to it a few moments ago. We have never seen young people grow up in a society where they have been exposed to the levels of pornography on the Internet that young people are exposed to now. We have always had pornography in societies but we have never had the level of exposure that young people have to it. We have never had young people having their attitudes about sexuality developed by an Internet presentation which is really separate from reality. It presents women in a very submissive and malleable role and gives young people a very distorted view of their own sexuality and how sexuality should operate. We have to be very conscious of this. Hopefully, it is not the case but it could be the case that sexual offences are increasing because young people are developing a distorted and warped view of sexuality from what they learn on the Internet.

I thank Members and will take on board what they said in their contributions.

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