The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre has called on Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary to apologise for using the term “rapists” when speaking about the airline’s competitors.
In remarks ahead of his airline’s annual general meeting in Dublin, Mr O’Leary said it was “absolutely” appropriate to compare other airlines to “rapists”.
The comments have been heavily criticised by victims’ campaigners and politicians.
The chief executive of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre called for him to apologise and “set a tone from the top”.
“… to say that he realises that the comments that he made were inappropriate and they were wrong,” Rachel Morrogh said.
Michael O’Leary was speaking ahead of his company’s AGM
She added: “We also want him to accept Dublin Rape Crisis Centre’s offer of training so he can understand the harmful impacts of his words.”
Ms Morrogh said that the National Rape Crisis Helpline had seen an increase in calls after Mr O’Leary made the remarks.
She called Mr O’Leary’s comments comparing other airlines to rapists “lazy” and “uninformed”.
“It feels like Mr O’Leary is chasing soundbites with no regard for how they may affect people. Undoubtedly, the words of high-profile individuals can contribute to trivialising and tolerating sexual violence in our society.
“For many survivors of rape, his words will be deeply hurtful and angering to hear.
“I will write to Mr O’Leary to offer him training on how the trivialisation of rape is so harmful.
“He has verbalised a historical trope and as a leading figure in industry, he should lead from the front in terms of what he says and does,” said Ms Morrogh.
Michael O’Leary refers to competitors as ‘rapists’
‘Offence felt by countless survivors’
The founder of a charity that supports survivors of domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence has also called on Mr O’Leary to issue a public apology.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Drivetime, Ciara Mangan, who founded Beyond Surviving and is a survivor of sexual violence, said: “It is such a significant word for survivors that in fact survivors cannot even say the word rape or rapists for years on end.
“That is how much meaning this word has.”
“Clearly today Michael O’Leary has demonstrated how meaningless a word that it is for him, to use it in such a fashion that he intended to cause offence to his competitors.
“Without a shadow of a doubt, that offence was certainly felt by countless survivors and her families across Ireland today,” she said.
Ms Mangan said the Ryanair chief’s comments were “deeply concerning” and say “a lot about his character”.
“We would have a glimpse into how he does public relations to date but certainly today’s comment was really below the bar,” she said.
Tánaiste Simon Harris has accused Mr O’Leary of “a deeply inappropriate use of language” and urged him to “listen to the experts”.
When asked if Mr O’Leary should apologise, he repeated that he should listen to the experts who have been reacting today.
‘Completely inappropriate and deeply offensive’
The National Women’s Council of Ireland executive director Corrinne Hasson said the remarks about rape are “completely inappropriate and deeply offensive to survivors of sexual violence”.
She added: “Comparing rape to selling airline tickets undermines the experiences and trauma of survivors.
“Flippant comments like this show a lack of understanding about rape culture and form part of the bedrock which allows violence against women to thrive in our society.”
Éist, a midlands-based support and advocacy organisation for victims of sexual and gender-based violence, said that there were countless ways to criticise competitors “without reaching for the language of sexual violence”.
In a statement, the group said their work is about challenging the normalisation and minimisation of sexual violence, adding that “language is part of that conversation”.
The group said it would ask public figures and organisations to consider why terminology describing one of the most serious forms of violence is considered appropriate shorthand for something as ordinary as the price of an airline ticket.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien called on Mr O’Leary to withdraw his remarks.
“They’re completely inappropriate and the best thing for Michael to do is to apologise and withdrawn them,” Mr O’Brien said on Today FM.
“They’re wholly inappropriate. For a successful businessman, those comments are just outrageous,” he added, noting how he agreed with the sentiments of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre and Women’s Council of Ireland on the matter.
People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger said: “I think it’s disgusting that Michael O’Leary would trivialise rape and sexual assault by bandying around the word ‘rapists’ in order to get a provocative soundbite and get covered in the media in relation to other airlines.
“To say that it wasn’t offensive – it’s offensive to victims and survivors of rape and sexual assault.
“What he was doing was purely using a word that he knew would get airtime – and no recognition of the fact that women, men, LGBT+ people who’ve been the victims of sexual assault, which is at an epidemic level in our society and internationally, would feel really insulted by that.”
Ms Coppinger said Mr O’Leary should “apologise” and “withdraw” the remarks.
Ruth Coppinger accused Michael O’Leary of trivialising rape and sexual assault (file image)
Labour senator Laura Harmon called on the Ryanair chief to engage with the Rape Crisis Centre to better understand the “horrific trauma of surviving sexual assault”.
She called on Mr O’Leary to apologise for his comments.
“The casual use of the world ‘rapist’ to describe prices of his competitors is deeply shocking and could be traumatising for any survivor of sexual abuse,” she said.
“It is shameful to see O’Leary diminish the real experience of these survivors in such a way.”
Fianna Fáil senator for Dublin Fingal West Lorraine Clifford-Lee said Mr O’Leary’s comments were “disgusting” and “represent a new low”.
“This goes far beyond being provocative or controversial. It shows an extraordinary lack of empathy for victims and survivors of rape and sexual violence,” she said.
Ms Clifford-Lee added: “This appears to be another attempt by Michael O’Leary to say whatever he can to grab a headline. However, in doing so, he has shown a complete lack of decency and respect for survivors of rape and sexual violence.
“He should withdraw these remarks and apologise to the survivors who will quite understandably have been hurt and angered by them.”