Teens getting 'sexually involved' and 'sharing intimate images' at younger ages, says Justice Minister

• Author: Ciara Phelan
• Published date: 22 March 2021
• Date: 22 March 2021
• Publication title: DublinLive (Ireland)

The soon to be Mum said she has been made aware of scenarios where girls and boys as young as 13 years-old have shared intimate images of themselves.

Ms McEntee said: "It seems that people at a much younger age are sexually getting involved with each other, which we just have to make sure where this is happening that obviously it's legal and consensual, but there seems to be a move towards a different type of engagement at a much younger age.

"And I also think the conversation around what's appropriate and what's not and what's consensual and what's not, the waters seem to be getting muddied there as well.

"I think unfortunately we need to be having these conversations at a much younger age and I know not everyone likes to hear that and that's a difficult conversation to have, but when it is happening, and when you do have young girls or boys sharing intimate images with each other, of each other, at 13 or 14, we need to be having these conversations earlier."

Last month, Ms McEntee commenced legislation which tackles the non-consensual sharing of intimate images and said it had been "quite scary to see how young this is happening."

She said it's...