Fine Gael Justice Minister Helen McEntee has announced a new national strategy against “gender-based violence,” including teaching LGBTQI+ issues to primary school students.
The strategy will involved updating Ireland’s RSE (Relationships and Sexual Education) and SPHE (Social, Personal and Health Education) curricula at both primary and secondary level.
Launching third national strategy against gender-based violence, Helen McEntee says there is now agreement to overhaul and update the RSE and SPHE curricula at primary and secondary level to discuss gender attitudes, consent, violence, control and LGBTQI+ issues. @VirginMediaNews pic.twitter.com/as3tvXxWGH
— Gavan Reilly (@gavreilly) June 28, 2022
These modules will reportedly teach about “gender attitudes,” “violence,” and “control.” It will also discuss consent in a sexual context.
The stated goal of the curriculum change is to tackle “gender-based” offences, such as domestic violence – Garda reports of which have increased 10% since McEntee took office in mid-2020.
Gardaí responded to more than 48,000 incidents of domestic abuse last year, a 10% increase on 2020. They also recorded an increase in criminal charges brought for crimes involving domestic abuse and for breaches of barring orders | https://t.co/QxHACu0tua pic.twitter.com/AlpKFdZMIZ
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) January 24, 2022
The news comes after the CSO reported a rise in rapes, sex offences, child abductions, assaults, shootings, bank robberies, burglaries, kidnappings, extortion, drug importation, and harrassment since last year.
Some serious crimes did decrease during the same period. Sexual assaults against minors are down 34%, and homicides are down 56%. Possession of firearms have also decreased by 26%, and drug offences such as possession and supply are down around 25%.
However, it was recently revealed by the CSO that almost half of prisoners in Ireland re-offend after release.
In 2019, 45% of released prisoners re-offended, compared to 54% in 2011.
https://www.rte.ie/news/2021/0625/1231321-reoffending-rates/
“I welcome the fact that the prison reoffending rates appear to have fallen from 48% in 2018 to 45% in 2019,” said the Justice Minister, commenting on the development.
McEntee took ministerial office in 2020, since which time there has been a substantial drop in EU and non-EU criminal deportations.
The number of foreign criminals deported for “serious criminal convictions” has reduced dramatically since Helen McEntee became Justice Minister, Gript can reveal.#gripthttps://t.co/JfFiOcUg1r
— gript (@griptmedia) February 13, 2022
Earlier this year, Gript revealed that a serial sex offender who was ordered to leave the country by the 27th of January was still in the country wandering free 2 months later.
Serial sex offender Chico Makamda from Angola has 15 prior convictions, and was found guilty of physically assaulting multiple women, sexual assault, false imprisonment, exposing himself to teenage girls, masturbating in public, robbery and more.
When asked about the matter, McEntee responded that the deportation of violent criminals “is a complex matter.”
Replying to a question about serial sex offender Chico Makamda, Helen McEntee says the deportation of serious criminals “is a complex matter.”#gripthttps://t.co/3CgbpaN26F
— gript (@griptmedia) April 27, 2022