Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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48. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality her plans for an awareness campaign on the issue of sexual consent in view of the fact there is a definition of consent outlined in the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7685/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy may be aware that I launched the national awareness campaign What would you do?(if you witnessed domestic violence) in November 2016. A national awareness raising campaign is a key action under the Second National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence; the aims of the campaign being to inform and change attitudes as well as activating bystanders to prevent domestic and sexual violence.

It is intended that the campaign will run for a period of 6 years up to 2021. The first 3 years will focus on aspects of domestic violence to be followed by 3 years dealing with sexual violence. However, elements of each type of violence will feature in both phases of the campaign. My Department is currently evaluating the first phase of the campaign on domestic violence. I can assure the Deputy that evaluation will be an ongoing process and will help to inform the development of a suitable theme, in due course, for the latter 3 years dealing with sexual violence.