Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I commend Senator Ruane on her Bill dealing with the rehabilitation of offenders and to expand the framework for spent convictions which was passed last night on Second Stage without opposition from the Government. I hope it will progress to Committee Stage. In the coming weeks Seanad group leaders will speak about the subject of making progress on Bills that hav been passed on Second Stage without opposition from the Government.

I wish colleagues a happy St. Valentine's Day. Women's Aid has today launched a campaign to warn people about the dark side of dating and ensure there are knowledge and awareness, among young women in particular, of dating abuse which has been criminalised under the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 as coercive control. The campaign has been launched with the hashtag, #TooIntoYou and is a way of bringing home, to young women in particular, the need to be aware of the signs when a relationship is becoming abusive such as when somebody stalks someone through the use of social media such as Twitter and persistent texting, including trolling. The Deputy Leader has been taking the lead on the issue for quite some time and we are all concerned about it. I am glad that Women's Aid has launched the campaign. Last night I spoke in the HIST debate of the historical society in Trinity College Dublin on the #MeToo movement. It was quite chilling to hear about the levels of sexual harassment the young women speakers had experienced. They are continuing to experience harassment, even with the #MeToo movement and despite there being greater awareness. Therefore, the campaign is really important. It is perhaps not very romantic to highlight the darker side of dating on St. Valentine's Day, but it is really necessary to do so.