The Minister for Justice will seek approval to create offences relating to the possession, production or distribution of extreme or violent pornography, and acts of necrophilia.
The move by Minister Jim O’Callaghan is in response to growing recognition that violent and extreme pornography is now “one of the most influential, accessible, and commercially powerful forces negatively shaping sexual development and behaviour”.
It will require drafting additional Heads of Bill to be included in the General Scheme of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences, Domestic Violence and International Instruments) Bill.
“This material is having a harmful impact, particularly on children and young people, and is distorting healthy sexual development and contributes to perpetuating misogynistic attitudes,” he said.
The Minister will seek Cabinet approval tomorrow to introduce new offences criminalising the possession, production or distribution of extreme or violent pornography.
Ireland does not currently criminalise the possession of extreme and violent pornography, a category described by a Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly in a Resolution in 2011 as including material, “graphically portraying scenes of degradation, sexual violence, torture, murder, necrophilia or bestiality for the purposes of sexual arousal”.
In the Resolution, the Assembly called on Member States to assess existing laws and regulations applying to violent or extreme pornography and introduce specific legislation to criminalise the production, distribution and possession – including for personal use – of violent or extreme pornography, if not already in place.
The High Court recently found that there is no offence in place in this jurisdiction to address possession of extreme pornographic material.
It follows two requests for extradition relating to the possession of bestiality material.
Legal advice from the Office of the Attorney General identified no constitutional or legal impediment to the introduction of the offences.
Ireland’s independent research body – dedicated to the study of commercial sexual exploitation, including pornography – has said it is encouraged by the Minister’s decision to legislate.
However, the Sexual Exploitation Research and Policy Institute (SERP) has warned that the legislation must address the realities of modern, mainstream porn.
A study of 15-year-old and 16-year-olds currently underway by the SERP shows the vast majority have been exposed to violence in pornography – most of them before the end of primary school.
The violence they have witnessed includes acts such as slapping, whipping, strangulation and gagging.
The SERP Institute has welcomed the Minister’s intentions but has emphasised that the legislation should address the most problematic content in mainstream, unrestricted and free-to-access pornography.
Recent content analysis by the institute of Ireland’s most popular pornography website (the 21st most accessed website in Ireland) found that almost two-thirds of video titles (65%) indicated content of concern, mainly relating to sexual violence and extreme misogyny against women and girls.
More than one in four titles (26%) directly reference physical aggression; almost one in four titles (24%) mimicked or portrayed child sexual abuse and one in ten titles (13%) portrayed incest.
Director of The SERP Institute Ruth Breslin said the legislation needed to be crafted “with great care” to ensure it captures all harmful pornographic content, so readily available online.
“This includes violent and dangerous acts that are being increasingly normalised by pornography, such as strangulation and suffocation, alongside incest-themed pornography and content that mimics child sexual abuse,” she said.
Ms Breslin urged the Minister to draw on the existing evidence base to ensure that Ireland’s new legislation “reflects the true realities of pornography as a significant driver of gender-based violence.”