One in six students suffer unwanted sexual incident, survey shows

Some 16 per cent of students in the Republic report instances of sexual harassment, stalking, violence or sexual assault, a survey shows.

While just 3 per cent of survey respondents who had an unwanted sexual experience report incidents to the Garda, some 20 per cent of women experience some such experience and 11 per cent report unwanted sexual contact.

The findings are contained in a survey Say Something published today by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) and supported by Cosc, the national office for the Prevention of Domestic Sexual and Gender-based Violence, as well as the Department of Justice.

Mixed gender
The research, the first of its kind in Ireland, was carried out in January and February with more than 2,750 third-level students selected from some 5,000 respondents online. The participants were of mixed gender and sexuality. The main areas researched were unwanted sexual experiences, physical mistreatment, harassment, and obsessive behaviour among the student body.

Among the main findings are the facts that 16 per cent of respondents experienced some form of unwanted sexual experience while at their current educational institution and the confirmation that the largest proportion of victims of unwanted sexual experiences identified the perpetrators as being acquaintances.

Obsessive behaviour
The survey also finds that 10 per cent of women and 5 per cent of men experienced obsessive behaviour that made them afraid or concerned for their safety, while 19 per cent of men and 17 per cent of women have been photographed or filmed without their consent.

More than 10 per cent of men and 8 per cent of women have had photographs or videos circulated online without their consent. A little over half of women surveyed said they discussed sexual violence with their friends, whereas only 38 per cent of men did.

The results also point to higher levels of incidents suffered by lesbian, gay or bisexual students.