• Amend the Harassment & Harmful Communications Bill
    The bill was categorised by the Law Reform Commission in 2016 after focus groups of young teens identified it as a privacy issue. However on greater examination it is clear that this should fall under sexual violence laws. It is important that people who engage in image based crime should face serious implications for sharing inappropriate images without consent. Also it is important that judges and barristers should understand the full impact on victims lives from the sharing of these images, and be trained up to deal with what is a reasonably new crime, with the age of smart phones and widespread internet access.
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    Created by Linda Hayden
  • Tackle Human Trafficking NOT Consenting Sex Workers.
    The review of this legislation is accepting submissions until September 11th 2020. The Criminal Justice Act 2017 Part 4 was put in place after lobbying by individuals and groups, some of whom were founded by and still have members of religious orders who ran Magdalene Laundries in their organisations, who believe all sex work is exploitation. This is not the case. This stance means ALL sex workers are being classified as exploited which in turn is distracting efforts from identifying real human trafficking victims. Human trafficking victims exist in many industries in Ireland including agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing and many more. Child trafficking is also a problem in Ireland. Yet, we are targeting consenting sex workers. The belief was that the criminalisation of the purchase of sexual services would end the demand for sexual services. This has not come into fruition. Ireland has been downgraded to Tier Two Watch List in the latest Trafficking in Persons Report and there have been NO PROSECUTIONS for human trafficking in Ireland EVER. Consensual sex workers exist in Ireland and will always exist in Ireland. This legislation has unfairly targeted their earnings, their safety and their autonomy rather than tackling human traffickers. These people and organisations have had very little communication with sex workers or experience in investigating cases of sex trafficking or other forms of human trafficking. This means there are victims of trafficking who are not even being looked for. This law has cut the flow of information to Gardaí from sex workers about real trafficking victims and children being requested for exploitation. Not only that but violence against sex workers has increased to dangerous levels because clients are afraid to get caught and sex workers are stigmatised to the point where abuse is deemed a natural part of their work - which should never be the case. Nicer clients have been scared away by the illegality of purchasing of sexual services and many who are still buying sex are the ones who take risks, putting sex workers in Ireland in serious danger. Sex workers report more issues with clients regarding safe sex. Sex workers in Ireland are not legally allowed to work together for safety under Ireland ‘Brothel Keeping’ legislation so they do not even have that comfort. To make buying sex illegal On top of the Brothel Keeping legislation, without first ensuring sex workers have access to social services and housing and all the other things they need to survive is horrific. For these reasons we are demanding an end to the Criminal Justice Act Section 27 part 4! TACKLE HUMAN TRAFFICKERS NOT WORKING PEOPLE!
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    Created by Emma-Jane Dempsey
  • Appoint a Senior Minister for Women and Equalities
    A long-term solution to remove systemic blocks to equality, for Women, girls and minorities in Ireland, is needed. The UK, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Sweden, Denmark and Canada have a Minister for Women or similar. It is time for the Irish government to consider a Minister for Women, like other countries. A Minister for Women and Equalities would need to do the job full-time, with enough resources, time and authority to do the work. A Minister for Women could look at systemic, policy blocks to equal opportunities in employment, education, housing and other areas for all people in Ireland, regardless of gender, marital status, family status, age, disability, sexual orientation, race, religion, socioeconomic status and membership of the Traveller community. Enquires Twitter: @zoehealy3
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    Created by Zoe Obeimhen
  • Reform the Sex Education Curriculum in Ireland
    The current curriculum is falling short for students. There is little coverage on safe sex for non-heterosexual people, sexual consent for all ages or inclusivity for transgender and non-binary people. The repercussions of a poor sex education is harmful for all students.
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    Created by Katie Gartland
  • No anti-LGBT campaigners in Parliament
    The committee inviting Lynda Rose to speak was prominent in the campaign for Section 28 which outlawed teaching about gay relationships in the 1980s. This narrative against inclusive sex education discriminates against the LGBT community who are already statistically more likely to experience discrimination and poor mental health.
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    Created by Nicola Browne
  • Public Inquiry Into Tusla Petition
    The failures of mothers and babies in the past in being excused on the grounds of ignorance. Future generations will never forgive this generation for a failure to hold TUSLA to account for it's incompetence to parents and children. TUSLA'S remit is very far reaching covering areas beyond child protection and welfare including domestic sexual and gender based violence services, retention of adoption records, early years services and education welfare. TUSLA is responsible for the most venerable members of our society, OUR CHILDREN,PAST AND PRESENT. Their failures will have lasting effects for many decades into the future. While there have been inquiries into some aspects of how TUSLA operates, there has never been a public inquiry into TUSLA as an overall body.
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    Created by Barbara Scanlon
  • Improve Transgender Healthcare in Ireland
    Long waiting list, lack of services and expert professionals are seriously harming the transgender community in Ireland, who are already among the most vulnerable community in Ireland. It is imperative to move from a psychiatric model of healthcare to a self-informed consent model. Within the current psychiatric model, people are having to wait long periods for a compulsory psychiatric evaluations before being able to access basic treatments such as hormone therapy. Long wait times are often traumatic and leave people with little options. In many cases people are therefore forced to seek treatment or surgery abroad. It is time that Ireland uses the WPATH model (World Professional Association for Transgender Health) and adopts a healthcare guideline inline with best practice.
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    Created by Rachel Reid
  • No Public Money For Mike Pence Visit
    Mike Pence presides over a cruel and inhuman system of detention at the US - Mexico border. He's also anti LGBTQIA+ rights and he supports conversion therapy for gay and bisexual people. As a country, we have a duty to say no to treating him as an official guest, as his politics flies in the face of everything we stand for. We certainly shouldn't roll out the red carpet for him to visit.
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    Created by Emily Duffy Picture
  • LGBT Parenting Rights
    Children in LGBT families are currently in limbo. Those being raised by two parents only have a legal relationship with one. They are a legal stranger to the other. They are denied all the protections afforded by the protection of their relationship with their non-biological parent. I am one of those parents. I cannot consent to medical treatment for my little son Finn. I cannot pick him up from crèche or school without the consent of my wife. If anything happens my wife, my child is taken into care as I am a legal stranger to him. This is discrimination. Minister Harris and his colleagues show up to pride for the positive PR while they put the families this event represents to the bottom of the pile. Protect our families now. No more delays! Great to have some media outlets highlighting the issue our families face. East Coast FM https://www.eastcoast.fm/podcasts2/podcasts/the-morning-show/episode/same-sex-parents/ Radio One - Morning Ireland https://twitter.com/morningireland/status/1158293378351677440?s=19
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    Created by Ailbhe IrishWomensFan
  • Reform Sex Education
    The Irish sex education curriculum needs to be objective, factual and inclusive and taught without the barrier of school ethos. Support the Oireachtas Education Committee and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessments recommendations to reform the current sex education curriculum. It is imperative that: - Young people grow up with the right information in order to make informed decisions about their own sexuality and relationships. - Young people grow up understanding consent, especially in the #MeToo era and at a time when there remains a high prevalence of sexual assault, harassment and violence. - Young people grow up inclusive of people's sexual orientation, gender identity and the spectrum thereof, at a time when LGBT students still face high amounts of homophobic and transphobic related bullying.
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    Created by Rachel Reid
  • Make Sex Education Inclusive
    Ireland has changed, we are a more inclusive, equal and progressive society and sex education in Irish schools must reflect this. Young people we work with have said that sex education is not fit for purpose, does not reflect the variety of identities and sexual orientation of people today, putting the health and safety of young people at risk. Recommendations by the Oireachtas Committee on Relationships and Sexual Health, and the NCCA Review of the RSE, echo what our young people say.
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    Created by gina halpin
  • Invest in HIV prevention.
    Every 18 hours in 2018 someone tested positive for HIV in Ireland. HIV infections reached a record high of 531 people in 2018. This could have been avoided if there was adequate resources and funding to fully implement prevention methods such as easily accessible nationwide HIV testing and a national PrEP programme. These two measures are proven to reduce infection rates. Antiretroviral Therapy is now so effective that when on treatment for HIV the virus is suppressed in a persons system so well they have a suppressed viral load. This means they cannot pass HIV to another person. Undetectable equals Untransmittable is a very important message which should be promoted and celebrated. Ireland has become a very progressive and open society in the last number of years, however HIV positive people still face unwarranted stigma. This stigma has led to poor mental health and low self esteem. The stigma that surrounds HIV is also a barrier to getting tested and seeking treatment. Education is the key to undoing years of misinformation and stigma and will help HIV positive people lead ordinary lives free from discrimination. We have the knowledge and methods to drastically reduce HIV infections, what we need now is political desire and commitment to make this a reality.
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    Created by Andrew Shannon