Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)

I support Senator Flynn's Bill. I know she has been working on it for a long time. It is a really important issue that brings us in line with things like the Luxembourg guidelines. Obviously, words matter. The power of words in legislation reflects our society, which is why the change she is introducing is so important. It is long overdue. It confronts language that we have tolerated relating to the abuse of children and it demands that we confront the truth. We need to acknowledge the horrific abuse that is happening in some of these awful cases.

I have spent a great deal time in this Chamber talking about harm, whether that is in medicine or in policy. I know the damage that can be done when we dilute the truth. A similar dynamic applies here in terms of the dilution in the words we use. When it comes to child sexual abuse, we have allowed the language to soften the violence, to protect the perpetrator and to downplay the suffering of the children involved. The term "child pornography" is used as if it is just another form of adult content, which it is not. It is a misleading term which suggests something consensual and transactional, but there is no such thing as consensual sex involving a child. That is not pornography. It is documented sexual abuse and evidence of a crime. Every time we use the term "child pornography", we participate in a culture that conceals the truth of what is happening to those children. As legislators, we cannot allow this to continue. I appreciate the Minister of State's comments that he is committed to seeing those changes.

This amendment brings us in line in terms of morality. It uses the words "child exploitation material" instead. That matters because it tells the truth. It acknowledges that we are looking at harm that is irreparable and devastating, and not something that should ever be normalised or minimised through language. It is not just in the context of that law that this matters; it also applies to the media. We often see headlines in this country which have described child abuse in terms that obscure reality.

I acknowledge the work of Fix It Ireland, which is a campaign by the sexual violence centre in Cork that has been tireless in exposing the kind of media reporting that does real damage. We may have all seen these headlines, but I will mention a few. There are headlines like "Man had sex with 12-year-old girl", as if a 12-year-old could ever legally or meaningfully consent. That is not sex; that is rape. Another one stated "Teen involved in sex act with older man". She was not involved in a sex act with an older man; she was abused. This kind of reporting does not just fail survivors; it also retraumatises them. It shifts blame and keeps the focus away from the adults who have caused that harm. We must be better than that. We must expect better of our media. We must lead by example by changing those words in our laws.

I commend Senator Eileen Flynn. I understand the Government will be accepting these amendments, and I commend it on taking that step. This is a great example of co-operation and moving forward on these types of issues.