Online violent pornography is driving much of the violence gardaí are seeing in sexual assaults on women, the Garda Commissioner has said.

Drew Harris told the Policing Authority that the widespread availability of extreme imagery was breeding a “normalisation” of violence against women.

Asked about apparent increases in violence in sexual offences, Mr Harris said: “In respect to the nature of some of the sexual offending that we see reported, in terms of violence perpetrated, the modus operandi of the attack, and how it’s been perpetrated, [it’s] the normalisation of violence against women, through very violent pornography.”

He said that violent adult pornography is, in effect, a “non-regulated” area and pointed out that so much of the resources available to gardaí goes towards dealing with child abuse material.

He said this violent adult imagery is “free and very available” on the internet for anyone with a computer or smartphone.