To ask the Minister of Justice to detail any discussions she has had with her counterparts in the Irish government on cross-border cooperation to increase public awareness on sexual consent.

I would refer to the information provided in response to AQW 20108/17-22 relating to my engagement with my counterparts in the Irish government on cross-border cooperation to increase public awareness on rape myths.

As stated in that response, I attend meetings under the auspices of the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) on Co-operation on Criminal Justice Matters, which provides the structured framework for North/South cooperation to enhance and develop more effective co-operation and co-ordination on criminal justice matters between the two jurisdictions.

At the IGA meeting in November, we agreed that the Support for Victims North / South Project Advisory Group (which is an official-level working group within the IGA framework) should consider areas that could be jointly addressed, including collaboration on challenging the myths around sexual offending.

My officials remain in close contact with their counterparts in the Department of Justice (Ireland) through the IGA structures and they will continue to work collaboratively to share information and best practice to inform any messaging on the myths around sexual offending.

My Department has already carried out considerable work with stakeholders and justice partners in Northern Ireland to address these issues. In March 2020 we launched a short awareness campaign using a TV advertisement, outdoor billboards and social media, this campaign strapline focused on the phrase ‘Listen – without consent it’s a crime’. This campaign was aligned with the PSNI’s ‘No Grey Zone’ and the Departmental/Nexus ‘Consent is Tea’ animation.

My Department has also part-funded work by PSNI on an awareness campaign that addresses the Gillen recommendation to enhance awareness amongst marginalised communities of the law and procedures in sexual offences. This campaign, which we expect to launch shortly, will also cover issues around consent.