Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

More than 1,000 people, mostly women, attended a sexual assault treatment unit in 2022. It is the first time the figure has gone above 1,000. It has increased by 20% in just a year. One fifth of the people attending those clinics were children. Reported sexual offences have increased by nearly 100% in the last ten years. The number of rapes has increased by more than 100% in the last ten years. CARI, an organisation which works with children, says there has been a 44% increase in the number of sexual assaults by children on children in just two years. Men and women who work with victims of sexual assault are calling for the Government to clarify its approach on how children will be taught about pornography under the new junior cycle. Parents are worried that children will be taught that pornography can be benign or ethical for children at a young age. Will the Taoiseach confirm that teachers will give clear ethical guidance to children that pornography consumed by children is dangerous, damaging and clearly linked to sexual violence?

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