Action needed on silence around child sex abuse - report | Breaking News & Latest Ireland Updates

Action needed on silence around child sex abuse - report — Social Affairs & Religion Correspondent Societal silence around child sexual abuse needs to be addressed, according to the support charity One in Four...

Social Affairs & Religion Correspondent

Societal silence around child sexual abuse needs to be addressed, according to the support charity One in Four.

A RED C poll commissioned by the organisation found that 90% of people believe that Irish society has failed to address the issue.

The attitudinal research funded by Community Foundation Ireland is the first of its kind in relation to child sexual abuse.

The report says child sexual abuse cannot continue to be viewed as something confined to the past or to certain institutions.

"It is happening today, in homes, schools, sports clubs, peer to peer and increasingly, through online spaces. Our collective inability to confront this uncomfortable reality has allowed it to persist, causing immeasurable harm," it states.

85% of those surveyed agreed that overuse of social media can damage children and young people's self-esteem.

One victim quoted in the report said she would not "give" social media to anyone until they are over 15.

"I had social media since I was like 8/9, and that’s very very young and it was the same with most of the kids in my primary school, the boys as well and they were learning mad things at such a young age that just weren’t true and us girls had to believe that that was true and live up to that, like the girls that they saw on their phones."

Protections breaking down

The usual protections at home, in school or online are breaking down according to the report, with social media and technology making it easier for abuse to happen anywhere.

The report says abuse often happens out of sight and is rarely talked about, resulting in survivors feeling alone, and families and communities sometimes looking away rather than face reality.

It also states that the topic is so emotional and overwhelming that people often avoid it or focus on the most shocking explosive cases, rather than working towards real solutions.

It calls for a Preventative Public Health Framework - acting at every level across society - long before the harm occurs.

Such a framework would begin with primary prevention - providing universal education across society in understanding healthy boundaries and the root causes of child sexual abuse.

Secondary prevention suggests focusing on early warning signs and stepping in quickly to support those at risk.

For those who have already been affected, survivors should receive timely professional support. Further harm or re-offending should also be prevented.

Invisibility of abuse

The key barriers currently according to the report relate to "Invisibility, Collapsing Boundaries and Explosiveness".

Regarding invisibility, it says abuse often happens out of sight and rarely talked about.

Collapsing boundaries relates to the usual protections breaking down, be they at home, in school or online. Social media and technology are making it easier for abuse to happen anywhere according to the report.

This was national polling conducted by Red C with quota controls to ensure representative data across gender, age, region and social class in line with CSO projections.

There were 1,000 in the fieldwork in May 2024. There was an 82% response rate (n=834) and people could opt out of certain questions.

Public Qualitative Research was also conducted with included 14 focus groups around the country and in-depth interviews with front-line professionals: teachers, public health nurse, therapist, advocacy and gardaí.

The report says a National Conversation about Tackling Child Sexual Violence needs to be led by a broad coalition of stakeholders, agencies and NGO’s to help build collective wellbeing, healthy development and respectful boundaries for all for all people - young and old.

"This includes understanding factors and toxic influences that have hijacked the sexual expectations of young men and young women - including 'Red Pill’ discourses, unhealthy pornography, objectification of ‘self’/ ‘others’ and the gamification of sexuality."

The report titled 'Irish Attitudes to Tackling Child Sexual Abuse. A Whole of Society Approach' will be launched by Minister for Children Norma Foley.

Watch: 'We constantly look at this through a rear-view mirror' says Chief Executive of One in Four

The prevalence of sexual violence is "higher than most people would realise", the Chief Executive of One in Four has said.

Deirdre Kenny said there have been several reports and investigations into child sexual abuse, but more needs to be done on prevention.

Speaking to RTÉ's Morning Ireland, she said: "We constantly look at this through a rear-view mirror. We haven't really been proactive about preventing it and I guess some of the barriers that the report highlights - one of them would be invisibility.

"This is a very difficult subject to talk about and we know that survivors feel very alone with that and often families and communities are not willing to really look at the reality of the situation."

Ms Kenny said the organisation is calling on the Government and society to "really get to grips with this and take responsibility".

She said a preventative public health framework that would detect abuse before it occurs is needed, adding it must be ensured that society has an understanding of health boundaries and the root causes of abuse.

"So, we get there before and we can intervene before something happens," she said, adding that a "national conversation" is needed so people can start talking about this "in a healthy and responsible way".

Ms Kenny said children are being exposed to "a lot of material online", which is breaking down health boundaries.

"We're calling for universal education, we're calling for more restrictions in the online space and a national conversation to talk about this in a healthy way," she added.