Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This is obviously a very sensitive area and one which, judging by the report's findings, has clearly affected the lives of a significant number of people. The survey reports that 52% of women and 28% of men reported experiencing sexual violence in their lifetime. It must be noted that the definition of sexual violence in this survey is quite broad, as flagged in the report. When one thinks of violence we may naturally think of physical encounters. The statistics collected in the report encompass a wider range of behaviours. Sexual violence is defined in the report as any sexual act that takes place without freely given consent or where someone forces or manipulates someone else into unwanted sexual activity. This sexual activity does not have to be physical in nature.

Consent is a key aspect of any sexual activity and the absence of consent is what gives rise to this prevalence of unwanted sexual activity. Many efforts have been made in schools in recent years to help explain and educate young people in the area of healthy and positive relationships, particularly in the area of consent. The work of schools is not enough and we cannot expect schools to be the only place where the notion of consent is promoted. It must be promoted throughout society to make as many people as possible aware of the dos and don'ts of consent. The importance of good communication between partners ensures understanding about sex and physical closeness and helps to ensure that those involved feel comfortable and safe about what is happening and most importantly that the person giving consent is in a competent state whereby they can give consent freely and clearly. The figures from the study related to people who reported a lack of consent, particularly among those aged between 25 and 34, is quite concerning. It shows that more work needs to be done on raising awareness and understanding of what consent is and how it is best communicated.

Another issue that might be contributing to some of the issues raised in the survey is that of drink spiking. It is not a new thing but it is something that needs to be punished more seriously. Campaigns have been run to try to make people more aware of the signs that indicate a drink has been spiked and to encourage people to be more careful in terms of leaving their drinks unattended. One such campaign was run by my local second-level school, Ramsgrange Community School. The transition year students brought their report to Leinster House for the Taoiseach to read. It was left in the Taoiseach's pigeonhole. Unfortunately that was over a year ago and no response has been received. Perhaps the Minister of State might have a look at this.

It has been reported that in 2022, 106 instances of drink spiking were reported to the Garda. This compares to just 22 reports in 2021. This shows either a major increase in drink spiking, a major increase in the willingness of people to report it or, perhaps, a combination of both. The Ministers, Deputy Harris and Deputy McEntee, launched an awareness campaign at the end of 2021. The HSE is doing some good work in this area. However, there also needs to be a joined-up approach in terms of the way such issues are dealt with by the Garda and other arms of our legal system.

Are our laws tight enough? Are they suitable? Do we need tougher punishments for those found guilty? Does the Garda have the resources available to deal with such crimes? We heard very concerning reports from 2021 of a large number of domestic violence calls going unanswered by gardaí. There were more than 3,000 in fact. I hope in the two years since then that the cause of the problem has been investigated thoroughly and that procedures are in place to ensure every domestic violence call is dealt with and given the seriousness it deserves. People who contact the Garda or any support service for any sort of violence but especially domestic or sexual violence have shown great courage and bravery in doing so. They need to have confidence that the issue is being treated in a sensitive and suitable manner.

I will quote what the Children's Ombudsman Dr. Niall Muldoon said in the media. He said the State must invest in youngsters who are committing sexual crimes. He said there is a lack of therapeutic services in this country, which is a real issue. He said the State needs to invest in children who are sexually violent if they are going to have a chance to turn their lives around. He further stated that children were committing sexual crimes long before widespread access to the Internet and pornography but that there were no therapeutic services to help underage abusers.

These comments came after an annual report by the Office of the Children's Ombudsman said the issue of sexual violence between children in schools featured in a number of complaints last year. In one case a secondary school girl had been made to feel the sexual abuse was her fault after she brought it to the attention of teachers. Speaking at the launch of this report yesterday, Dr. Muldoon said he felt that sexual violence between children needed to be better understood as the State was currently ignoring the cohort of children. He said that we need to work with young people who are carrying it out and obviously with children who have suffered at the hands of that abuse. He states his office has raised this issue with the Department of Education and recommended that it be addressed as part of the new anti-bullying policy. In short, I hope this can be addressed as a matter of urgency because there is not much point in having an Ombudsman if we are not going to listen to what he has to say.

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