Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) has welcomed a Government decision to opt in to a recast EU directive on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child-sexual-abuse material.

Chief executive Rachel Morrogh said that the organisation backed the aims of the recast directive to take account in law of the impact of technological developments.

“We are encouraged to see that the recast directive complements the Digital Services Act by enhancing online-safety measures and requiring proactive actions from online platforms,” she stated.

State responsibilities

DRCC has also welcomed changes in the directive on prevention, assistance to victims, investigations, and prosecutions, that are targeted at specific gaps and challenges that have emerged since 2011.

The organisation says that the new proposals place additional responsibilities on the State in areas that include reporting and data-collection obligations.

This proposal is an update to the previous 2011 directive to which Ireland largely gave legislative effect in the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017.