A social media video produced by the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) promoting consent has been removed following criticism from Ireland's minister for justice, who described it as "inappropriate and demeaning to grandparents".
The advertisement depicted two grandparents enthusiastically hugging a young boy. When they approached their granddaughter, she appeared unhappy about the exchange. The video carried the message: "not everyone wants a hug. Even from the people who love them."
The ad was part of a campaign titled 'We-Consent', led by the DRCC.
Fianna Fáil politician Jim O'Callaghan, whose department funds the campaign, confirmed the video had been removed following engagement with the DRCC. He said it "does not represent the views of the Government".
"It was both inappropriate and demeaning to grandparents and has been removed by DRCC following my officials engagement with them," O'Callaghan said.
"While it is vital to ensure that people understand the concept of consent when it comes to sexual relationships, this video did not advance that aim and in many ways was counterproductive."
In a statement to Irish broadcaster RTÉ, the DRCC said the 'We-Consent' campaign is a long-term initiative aimed at increasing awareness and practice of consent in Ireland.
"We created three videos premised on the idea that boundaries should be respected from an early age and to respect others' boundaries too," the DRCC said.
"We are going to remove the videos from our social media channels while we reflect on whether they are having the positive effect we want them to have."
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said the videos "were produced by DRCC at a low-cost using volunteers and are not part of a Government advertising campaign".
"'We-Consent' is a programme created and developed by the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, aimed at informing, educating, and engaging the public about all forms of consent," the spokesperson said.
"The Department understands that DRCC intends to review these videos. They are being removed from their social media channels to enable this review."
In addition to the Department of Justice, the campaign is also supported by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and CUAN, the Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Agency. All three have been approached for comment.
Fine Gael Senator Gareth Scahill criticised the video as a waste of public resources.
"What's concerning here is public money has been used to fund an ad which at best has been ill-thought out, and at worst is offensive and potentially damaging to our older population," he said.
"The issue of consent is a very serious one and I acknowledge the important work the Rape Crisis Centre and other agencies do every day to advocate for all victims of rape and sexual violence, including children. But this publicly funded social media video is a million miles off the mark."
Scahill added: "What's next? Will we need to sign consent forms at arrival halls in Dublin, Shannon, Knock and Cork airports this Christmas before we can greet family members?"
The ad attracted criticism and received international coverage before being taken down.
