Brussels, 9th of October 2025

Last week, FAFCE was closely following the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, and met with Members of the Assembly and relevant stakeholders.

Among the several debates and events that took place, FAFCE wants to highlight the debate and amendments on the “Universal Health Coverage”

On Thursday, the 3rd of October the report “Promoting Universal Health Coverage (UHC)” was debated by the Parliamentary Assembly, recalling to include within the framework of UHC “comprehensive and accessible services for prevention, sexual, reproductive and mental health, as well as support for victims of sexual violence.”

The PPE PACE Member Rónán Mullen pointed out that there was regrettably no reference on the mental health of children and on people with disabilities. He urged the Assembly to include in the report the challenges that children face regarding the online digital space, and reminded that the Council of Europe, in a report adopted last year in April, stated that “pornography must be understood as a public health issue for which states are responsible to act.”

In his intervention during the debate, Mr. Mullen highlighted that “children are among the most vulnerable people in our society. So when we rightly address gender discrimination, we mustn’t forget our future. And our children are our future and they need to be supported”. 

In this context, Mr. Mullen had tabled 3 Amendments to this report to address the challenge of children’s online access to pornography and its impact on the mental health of children and adolescents. He also made reference to “the problem of early exposure to pornography, its impact on children’s mental health and psychosexual development, and the risk of compulsive and aggressive sexual behaviour in children and adolescents“. 

FAFCE welcomes the approach and the highlighted points of the Irish Member of the Parliamentary Assembly and recalls its fight to protect children from online pornography and to raise awareness of its harmful impact for the mental health of children. 

More links on FAFCE work at the Council of Europe: