More than one in two women and almost a third of men reported experiencing sexual violence in their lifetime, a landmark survey has found.
On Wednesday, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) published the results of its prevalence of sexual violence survey 2022, which is the biggest examination of the issue in the State to date.
It found that 40 per cent of adults experienced sexual violence in their lifetime, with higher levels among women (52 per cent) than men (28 per cent).
Overall, sexual violence prevalence rates in the survey show an age effect, with young people reporting higher levels than older people. Some 22 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 experienced sexual violence both as an adult and as a child, compared to 8 per cent of those aged 65 and over.
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Four times as many women (21 per cent) than men (5 per cent) reported experiencing non-consensual sexual intercourse over their lifetime. Furthermore, 10 per cent of women experienced non-consensual sexual intercourse as an adult when they were unable to give consent.
Sexual violence is defined in the survey as a range of non-consensual sexual experiences, from non-contact experiences such as verbal harassment to non-consensual sexual intercourse.
The research was conducted on more than 4,500 respondents, comprising a nationally representative random sample.
The survey took a multi-mode approach, meaning individuals could choose to complete the survey online, self completion on a tablet facilitated by an interviewer, or through a paper survey, and the data was collected between May and December 2022.
One in five adults experienced unwanted contact sexual violence as a child, and a similar number (19 per cent) experienced unwanted non-contact sexual violence as a child.
The survey does not provide insights into current levels of child sexual violence, as the survey was of adults only, with the incidences of child sexual violence relating only to when those adults were children.
The majority of adults (78 per cent) who experienced sexual violence in their lifetime knew the perpetrator.
About half of adults who experience sexual violence told someone about it, with disclosure much more likely if the experience was with a non-partner only (55 per cent) than with a partner (16 per cent).
Females are more likely to disclose than men, with 53 per cent of women telling someone they’ve experienced sexual violence, compared to 34 per cent of men.
However, the researchers said the survey findings are “highly likely” to underreport the actual prevalence of sexual violence, due to the sensitivity of the topic.
Helen McGrath, statistician in the social analysis section of the CSO, said behind the data in the publication are “a range of individual stories, which speak to the lived experience of those who have, and those who have not, experienced sexual violence”.
Speaking about the survey in Belfast, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said they are “quite shocking figures”.
“I think one thing we really need to understand and talk about more as a society, with each other, with friends and family, is the whole concept of consent,” he said.
“Understanding that people have bodily autonomy and shouldn’t be approached in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable or in a way that’s wrong.”
The Rape Crisis Network of Ireland (RCNI) said the latest publication shows that sexual violence is “endemic” and is “perpetrated throughout the whole life cycle of people in a wide range of different environments”.
“We need urgent action to tackle ongoing misogyny and the unwillingness of a large proportion of males to view females as equal human beings as the root cause of this violence.”
One in Four, which represents adults who experienced childhood sexual violence, said if the prevalence of childhood sexual violence was a “national emergency”.
“This new research must be a wake-up call for us all and presents a serious challenge to the Government, child protection services and law enforcement.”
Professor Hannah McGee, lead author of the previous SAVI report from 2002, said sexual violence is “a big population health scourge, as well as a crime”.
Noeline Blackwell, chief executive of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, said: “It is more important than ever that we acknowledge the harm done by sexual violence and continue to provide supports to victims and survivors. Not only that, but we must build a society that recognises the impact of non-consensual activity and works to eradicate it.”
Orla O’Connor, director of the National Women’s Council, said the impact of sexual violence on women is “devastating, traumatic, and has long-term implications”.
“We must remember that behind each of these statistics is a woman whose life may have changed forever because of trauma, or a woman whose life is marred by ongoing violence,” she said.
“We need to know how prevalent sexual violence is, who commits it and how it impacts different groups of women so that we can effectively tackle it and create a safer society for all women and girls.”
Minister for Justice Simon Harris said what is “extremely concerning” is that so few people tell someone when they have experienced sexual violence.
“I think that gives you a real indication of the scale of work that needs to be undertaken and is being undertaken in terms of change in culture, in terms of really trying to adopt a zero tolerance approach,” he told RTÉ Radio One’s News at One.
“No little baby boy is born an abuser. What happens actually in our society, what happens in our homes, what happens in our schools matters, and the zero tolerance strategy that we have, of course, rightly puts the pressure on us to do more as a government. And we’re up for that and we’re doing it.”
