Irish Minister Criticizes Consent Ad Featuring Grandparents

An advertisement produced by the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) that aimed to promote consent has been removed following criticism from Ireland's Minister for Justice, Jim O'Callaghan.

O'Callaghan described the ad as "inappropriate and demeaning to grandparents." The advertisement depicted two grandparents enthusiastically hugging a young boy, but when they approached their granddaughter, she appeared unhappy with the interaction. The ad's message was "not everyone wants a hug. Even from the people who love them."

The video was part of a campaign titled 'We-Consent,' led by the DRCC, which aims to increase awareness and practice of consent in Ireland. The campaign is supported by the Department of Justice, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and CUAN (the Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Agency).

O'Callaghan, whose department funds the campaign, stated that the video did not represent the government's views and was counterproductive to the aim of ensuring people understand consent in relationships. He noted that the video has since been removed by the DRCC after engagement with his department.

Fine Gael Senator Gareth Scahill also criticized the ad, calling it a "waste of resources" and "potentially damaging to our older population." He questioned the use of public money for what he considered an "ill-thought out" and "offensive" video.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice clarified that 'We-Consent' was created and developed by the DRCC to educate the public about consent. The social media videos were produced by the DRCC at a low cost using volunteers and were not part of a government advertising campaign. The department acknowledged that the DRCC intended to review the videos and that their removal from social media channels facilitated this review.