Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. This is a scenario in which the Minister has done much work. He has progressed many ideas that we all recognise will improve thestatus quofor people who have been the victims of sexual harassment and of, as other Senator said, power games, and of the abuse of power by certain individuals in workplaces and third level institutions.

In my professional capacity, as a criminal barrister, I have seen many people who have been prosecuted as a result of behaviour that they have committed. In far too many of those cases, this behaviour is actually born out of ignorance. There is an astonishing level of ignorance but it does not forgive the behaviour. However, if there was a greater understanding of the effect the behaviour has on individuals and the consequences that arise from the behaviour, people would think twice. Much of the work that the Minister’s Department has been doing has been effective in bringing to the fore the issues around things like consent, and an understanding of what it is consent in real terms, as opposed to acquiescence or submission. That is an important difference.It applies, in particular, to young men. They are not always the perpetrators, but invariably, or usually, they are, and their victims are usually female, although of course it spans all kinds of people. It is so pervasive.

Recently, I have been watching a Netflix programme called "Sex Education". Of course, it is a dramatisation, but it is refreshing how openly the programme explores the issues that affect young people and how it talks about what young people are doing in real terms. In Ireland, we have come from a history where we are desperately afraid of discussing these issues because we think that if we talk to young people about sex it will somehow encourage them to do it. Well, the news is that they are doing it anyway. We think that if we talk to young people about sex, somehow that is going to inform them in a way that encourages more sexual activity. As I said, they are doing it anyway. Would we not be much better off if they knew about the pitfalls? One of the storylines in the programme is about a girl who is sexually assaulted on the bus on the way to school. The programme explores the deep psychological effect it has on her. She stops getting the bus, she feels bad about herself and no longer wants to be with her boyfriend. Many young men, in particular, do not understand how a casual act that they commit has a deeply damaging effect that they do not intend on the person who is the victim of that act. The wonderful thing about this programme is that it shows the real effect of sexual harassment, sexual assault, bad behaviour in a sexual context and criminal behaviour in a sexual context.

One of the things that we need to look at, and I recognise that the Minister's Department has been working in this direction, is how education is key to stopping much of this behaviour. Rather than dealing with it after the fact when the harm has been done, both to the victim and in terms of the consequences for the perpetrator, we can stop it much earlier if we address these issues, do not run from them and acknowledge that we need to talk about them. Having that open forum is a tremendously important step that we could implement, particularly in third level institutions and also in second level institutions. It does not just start when people go to college. Kids are interacting with each other in a way that they often do not understand. The presence of sex counsellors and independent, dispassionate professionals - not friends, the Internet or pornography - who can inform them about what they are at and the consequences of it, and not in a condescending way or in a way that tells them not to do something, but in a way that encourages them to understand what they are doing and informs them about all kinds of aspects of sexual activity, is something that we really need to be putting in place. Gone are the days of the old Ireland where nobody mentioned sex as if it did not ever happen. We need to address this head-on, acknowledge that it is happening and take the same kind of approach that we see in "Sex Education" - an open discussion, a recognition of the reality and an addressing of issues that we have hidden from in the past. Without wishing to drag it on, that is the main point I wish to make. Although this motion concerns sexual harassment, and there has been much discussion about NDAs, and I agree with what has been said about them, there is an educational strand here that will help us stop a lot of this before it ever starts. If we can instill in young men, in particular, an understanding of the damage that they do when they behave in a certain way, we could stop it before it every starts and also stop the damage that it causes.

While the Minister is here, I wish to state that there are many other issues that we need to address in terms of an open discussion, for example, on VAT on condoms. Young Fine Gael is conducting a campaign currently to have VAT on condoms removed. It seems to me to make perfect sense. The notion that we do not make condoms as available as possible is to somehow belie the notion that they are being used by young people - or not being used by them, which is even more dangerous. In respect of period products, there is a good organisation that is based in Limerick and is working on this issue. It is campaigning to have the VAT on period products removed. These are all issues that affect young people. We should be helping them in every way that we can. There is an inconsistency insofar as VAT has been removed in respect of some period products but menstrual cups, for example, still have VAT attached to them. I do not understand that.

A multi-strand approach can solve problems and stop them before they start. I praise the Minister for the work he has done so far, but here is so much that we can do to shine light on these issues and stop them before they start.