Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

In this debate on youth crime, there has not been much emphasis on the huge danger of violent misogyny and the targeting of young boys to essentially hate women and blame them for the situation they face. "Adolescence", a series on Netflix, has opened up a big discussion in society around this. The plot is very reminiscent of the horrific killing of Ana Kriégel in this country. We have to say that sexual crime among under-18s has rocketed. It has increased approximately sixfold. Fifty per cent of 13-year-olds have viewed pornography. The manosphere, led by the likes of Andrew Tate and company, has operated unchecked for years, promoting rape and violence against women. Sixteen- to 18-year-olds who set up accounts are, as has been found by research, targeted within 23 minutes if they are seen to be young men.

On the impact this is having, a survey on traditional views of manhood indicated that these were much higher among younger men. Two in five men overall had these views among 67% of younger people. This is extremely worrying. We know that Tate is facing sex trafficking charges. In a survey carried out in 2023, eight out of ten 16- to 17-year-olds had viewed Andrew Tate's social media. Almost half of 16- to 24-year-olds had a positive view of him. This is not just imagination; it is very real. Half of young fathers had a very positive view of him as well. In a survey done by the Rape Crisis Centre, 46% of men believe women exaggerate sexual violence and rape. Women's Aid conducted a survey which found that 52% of men believed they should dominate and control in a relationship. Some 46% said that real men should not care about women's opinions or feelings. Why has there been no response to this real threat? Where is the Government education programme? We had a sex education Bill in 2015 in respect of which no real action, including the training of teachers and so on, has been taken.

We cannot leave it to parents and teachers to compete with a well-funded manosphere. Parents and teachers are no match for the social media companies. It is estimated that X, for example, previously earned £10 million a year from Tate-generated traffic. There is a clear ideological connection between Musk and Tate. Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook has argued for more masculine energy. What regulation is taking place? Why has the EU Digital Services Act not been brought into play to stop this hate and violent misogyny at source? Ireland is meant to be regulating this on behalf of the EU. Boys and men are finding the manosphere when they look for help on health and fitness. We need the Government to act and not just leave it up to parents to deal with this.

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