Sexual Violence Survey Liaison Group Meeting

Videoconference

25th November 2021 11:00am

Agenda

1. Introduction

2. Minutes and update on actions

3. Pilot overview and assessment

4. Update from Head of Social Data Collection Section

5. Update on main survey approach

6. Next steps

7. AOB

Minutes

Attendees:

• Keith McSweeney (Chair), Helen McGrath (Secretary), Fiona O’Riordan, Central Statistics Office
• Ann Ryan, TUSLA, the Child and Family Agency
• Clíona Saidlear, Rape Crisis Network Ireland
• Elaine Mears, Rape Crisis Network Ireland
• Maeve Lewis, One in Four
• Shirley Scott, Dublin Rape Crisis Centre

Minutes

1. Introduction

The Chair welcomed all participants to the virtual meeting. Orla O’Connor, Philip McCormack and Elaine Byrnes and Susan Leahy were noted as sending apologies. Ann Ryan was introduced as a replacement for Mary Roche from Tusla. He explained the focus of this Liaison Group meeting was sharing information on the SVS pilot results and the proposed plan for the main survey.

2. Minutes and update on actions

The Secretary gave an overview of the minutes from the previous meeting and gave an update on the actions from the last meeting. There were no issues raised with the minutes. These will be published online.

3. Pilot overview and assessment

Helen McGrath presented on the pilot and its assessment which was completed since the last meeting. The main points of the presentation included:

• A reminder of the pilot objectives and pilot design. The focus of the pilot was to test the questionnaire and the field operation.
• A brief overview of the field operation including an outline of the team make up and training prior to the pilot, with details from the pilot overview note issued in July 2021.
• An outline of who responded to the survey was shared which was in line with other household survey experiences. A chart showing where respondents dropped out of the instrument was shared which showed most people finished the survey with little drop out through the sensitive sections.
• Some key points from the focus group with survivors were shared, where they reviewed the entire questionnaire and shared their observations with the CSO.
• An outline of the field operation results showed the ethical approach was met however the response rates were lower in comparison to other household surveys. These results were in line with other European countries experiences with the Eurostat Gender-Based Violence Survey pilot.
• In summary, the instrument was deemed satisfactory with some changes noted. However, the field operation had to be revisited.

There followed some general discussion:

• The challenges in running the pilot were acknowledged by the group and the CSO were thanked for their perseverance in completing the pilot.
• The observations from survivors in the focus group were explored by the group. The rationale behind wanting to go back through the survey to change responses was requested. From the focus group, there was a strong sense of, not only, wanting to complete the survey – but also to complete it correctly. The focus group felt being able to move back through the survey would help them be confident that they had entered the data in the right section. However it was pointed out that this had to be balanced with the ethical risk to a person in a current abusive relationship. A suggestion on ensuring that signposting the content of the survey would help. This however had to be balanced with a competing request to shorten introductions. This is part of the changes which the office will have to include in the questionnaire.
• The impact of differing levels of motivation for respondents on the results was raised particularly as survivors may be highly motivated. It was noted that a range of responses had reported no experiences in the pilot and their journey through the survey is substantially shorter. The narrative when publishing the data will have to address these issues as well as the potential for underreporting.

4. Update from Head of Social Data Collection Section

Fiona O’Riordan, Senior Statistician from the Social Data Collection Unit, spoke on the context for household data collection, both currently and for 2022. Several points were addressed in the talk including:

• The pilot represented a significant milestone for the office. This was the first time the CSO has conducted this type of a survey on a very sensitive topic but also the context of a society reopening after COVID lockdowns as well as the ransomware attack, and spikes of COVID cases in localised areas.
• The wider perspective for household surveys across the CSO for 2022. There are several large-scale surveys which were postponed due to the pandemic which have been scheduled for 2022. In addition, the Census will be conducted in 2022 which will require 5,000 enumerators.
• The uncertainty in which the office has to plan due to COVID-19 particularly with recent guidance on reducing social interactions in light of the high numbers of cases.
• The main survey will be challenging to deliver however the office has delivered on a pilot in equally challenging circumstances.
There followed some general discussion:
• A query was raised on whether there was a risk of over burdening households in Ireland with the number of surveys going in the field. Due to the random selection of households, and the size of the samples involved it would be unlikely that a household would be involved in two or three surveys next year. The risk lay in overburdening the support sections in the office like HR, Communications unit, IT, Data office, etc. However good controls are in place to manage these internal risks.
• The opportunity that the running the SVS after the Census offers was explored. The CSO, due to the widespread campaign for the Census, is likely to be more recognisable as a trustworthy brand for the public which can lead to improved response rates for interviewers.

5. Update on main survey approach

Helen McGrath gave a presentation on the proposed design for the main survey data collection for the Sexual Violence Survey. Several points were addressed in the presentation including:

• The factors that fed into the design – low response rates to the web survey, difficulties due to the household approach, maintaining ways to mitigate under-reporting and the pressure on interviewer availability.
• The main survey design was proposed to follow this sequence:

o An initial letter is sent to a household member with a request to complete the survey with a survey link and the access details included. If not accessed a reminder will be sent.
o If the survey has not been completed after the reminder, the household will be referred to the field-based interview team. The interviewers will locate the household member and ask them to complete the survey themselves using the interviewer’s tablet.
o If this is not suitable for the person, a paper-based form will be provided. The paper version of the survey will not contain the same variables as the online survey. It will contain only the key prevalence/disclosure questions to reduce the length of the questionnaire and remove the burden of the filtering from the respondent.

• The experience of European countries in using multi-mode approaches for the Eurostat Gender-Based Violence Survey was shared.
• While some elements have to be finalised, this approach is seen as the most effective way to achieve a main survey next year leading to publication in 2023.
There followed some general discussion:
• Clarification on how support services were going to be shared with respondents was sought. The pilot included references to the national helpline at the beginning and the end of the survey with an additional screen where respondents can select their county to see the most appropriate local service for them. It was noted that the impact of this survey on support services cannot be determined in advance. Currently, support services are working as hard as possible to meet demand.
• A suggestion was made to ensure that all stakeholders would be made aware of the upcoming survey closer to the launch date. This was accepted by the CSO and will be built into the schedule.
• Generally, the group were satisfied with the approach shared. Any observations/comments on the proposed design can be sent to the Secretary.

6. Next steps

The next meeting will be scheduled for March 2022 where an update on the main survey plan for 2022 will be shared.

7. AOB

There was no AOB to share.

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