Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I commend Senator Flynn on this legislation and, indeed, Ms Jessica Bray in her office and all those whom I know worked closely with her and, of course, the Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers, OPLA, the Bills Office and others who have supported the work.

I am incredibly proud to have Senator Flynn as part of our Civil Engagement Group. In the course of this Seanad, she has shown herself to be an incredibly strong leader in public debate, as a public representative and as somebody who drives, questions, challenges and brings forward debate in that part.

Today, we are also seeing her make an incredibly strong contribution in that other really important part of our work as Senators, which is as legislators. The legislative work all of us take on, and that role and responsibility we have in the Oireachtas of shaping and stewarding the laws and, where necessary, challenging and updating them, which is so important. This is a really important legislative contribution.

I this Bill will pass soon, quickly and in its full Stages. Seven separate pieces of the laws of our land will be immensely improved by the passing of this Act, and, as Senator Ward pointed out, it is quite an achievement to improve seven laws at once. It is really important in that regard.

Laws reflect experience but they also shape experience. Similarly, language can reflect experience but it can also shape experience. That is what is being tackled here in both. We know the damage language can do and what the wrong word used in the wrong way can do. We also know there is a very important power in naming , that is, when we properly express and name a problem or elephants in the room, and talk about experiences. Sometimes, it is using the right word. It is not just the absence of the wrong word. Using the true language can be very powerful and important.

We saw that in similar areas in this House. When we talked about coercive control and this House made changes on that, it was important in terms of naming it as an offence but also in terms of naming it as a thing and as part of real lived experience. It was also very important that the phrase "revenge porn", which used to be used, was completely moved away from and instead we talk about what it is, which is image-based sexual abuse, and name it as such. That is important.

In this context, every time the wrong phrase is used - every time the phrase "child pornography" is used - it is damaging. Many people talk about not wanting to think or talk about it but those who are thinking and talking about it should be able to. It was really interesting that Senator Flynn said the phrase people want to use when they talk about it in courts is to name it as "child sexual exploitation material" or "abuse material". I have spoken to journalists who get contacted every time they report and use the phrase "child pornography" because people say that is not the right phrase. They know it is not the right phrase but it is what is in the laws. Multiple conversations, therefore, get affected. And then, for those who have experienced abuse and exploitation as children, every time they hear the phrase "child pornography", that is damaging. That is why we want campaigns like Fix It to not have to use their energy in fighting how the phrasing is used. We can also be pooling our energies towards the actual task at hand, which is ending and fighting child sexual abuse and exploitation. It is really important in this regard and has a very real affect.

I will point to another reason this legislation is important. We talked about pornography. One of the problems with that word for me, which other people have spoken about, is that it points towards the imagined viewer rather than, as this Bill clearly states, material evidence of a crime that has been committed in sexual exploitation and of something awful that has been done to a child or that a child has experienced. Many of the Acts that are being amended by this important Bill today predate the referendum we had on the rights of the child in Ireland. That is a really important point too.

When we talk about the rights of the child, the child needs to be at the centre. I know and understand people are speaking as being parents and caring for the child. We all have a role in terms of protection. When we talk about protection, we absolutely have a role in terms of having laws that protect and vindicate the rights of the child. The child must be at the centre. Children's rights and, indeed, their experience and power should be at the centre. That is why it was good that we mentioned, for example, the work Senator Ruane and others have done around consent education and empowering sexual education in our schools. It is about making sure that children, as citizens of the country, see laws that care about, reflect and empower them and speak authentically to their experience. It is a really positive Bill. I am delighted that it is moving forward today. I urge the Government to help us create space within the schedules of the Seanad and Dáil to move it through as rapidly as possible.