Meeting 14: 5th October 2022

Sexual Violence Survey Steering Group Meeting

Videoconference between Central Statistics Office and Department of Justice.

5th October 2022 10:00am

Agenda

1. Introduction – CSO chair

2. Agreement of minutes from last meeting – update on actions

3. Update from CSO on development work to date

4. Finance

1. 2022 update on spend

5. SVS results reporting/analysis

6. Other survey updates (EU-GBV/DV surveys)

7. Third national strategy update

8. Next meeting – Dec 2022

9. AOB

Minutes

Attendees:

• Gurchand Singh, Chief Data Officer, Department of Justice
• Philip McCormack, Research Officer, Department of Justice
• Alice Wainwright, Principal Officer, Department of Justice
• Keith McSweeney, Senior Statistician, Central Statistics Office (Chair)
• Helen McGrath, Statistician, Central Statistics Office

1. Introduction

The Chair welcomed all members of the steering group.

2. Agreement of minutes from last meeting

The minutes from the last meeting were agreed and updates were given on each action.

3. Update from CSO on development work to date

Since the previous steering group meeting, the office has:

• Continued implementing the plan for the 2022 approach. Two batches of the sample have been released. See point A for further details.
• Timing for the publication has been discussed with the communications team. The intention at this stage is to aim for end of March 2023 for publication.
• The eighth Liaison Group meeting is proposed for the 21st October.

A. Survey data collection

The field team (three co-ordinators, 25 interviewers) have continued to deliver and collect the survey responses.

Two debriefing sessions with co-ordinators have been held with a third to be held at the end of September. These sessions facilitate the discussion of any issues with the field data collection. It is used to reiterate the message for the field teams that this survey is for everyone and that it is important to complete it.

The sample for the survey has been released in stages. The first stage represented 6,000 cases which were contacted from May to September. The second stage represented 5,400 cases which were contacted from August onwards. A third stage of about 1,200 cases will be released in October.

Just over 3,300 returns have been received. The vast majority of returns (80%) are CAWI with 16% representing CAPI/CASI and 4% representing PAPI. An overall interim response rate of 30% has been calculated however this does not represent the full 11,400 cases yet.

As previously noted, field staff have found people generally receptive at the door. Initial findings from the data suggest that the profile of the respondents are similar to the pilot with a reasonable split between males and females responding. Respondents are finding the survey sensitive but not difficult to complete. They are also not finding the survey time consuming.

4. Finance

An overview report on the first eight months of 2022 spend was discussed. The Department of Justice will confirm the budget agreed for the SVS. It was noted that there is likely to be an underspend of estimated €400k at the end of the year. This underspend will become clearer as 2022 continues. The underspend is linked to many elements including the challenges in estimating the budget in advance of finalising the final methodology of the main survey, the methodology chosen with the frame and targeted identification of respondents and reduction in actual interviewer numbers assigned to the survey (from 35 estimated to 25 actual). Given the pressing need to conduct a domestic violence / GBV survey for Ireland (as noted in the Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence ), there may be opportunities to progress this work in a timely manner in 2023 following completion of the SVS project, before CSO SVS staff are reassigned. D/Justice agreed to consider options here and revert back when there is more clarity.

5. SVS results reporting/analysis

The CSO gave an update on the paradata from the survey responses received to date. An overview of date of return, the attrition within the survey as well as basic demographic details such as age, sex and education level were described. Initial data on the impact of the survey based on the respondent module was shared. As noted previously, respondents are finding the survey sensitive but not difficult to complete. They are also not finding the survey time consuming.

6. Other survey updates (EU-GBV/DV surveys)

A summary of the survey based requirements under the Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence was given with a comparison between the last national survey on Domestic Violence and the current EU-GBV survey. An outline of the current position of the directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on combating violence against women and domestic violence was given, as well as details on the data requirements to support the directive. The current implementation of the EU-GBV was also described. Overall, there is an opportunity to identify where the EU-GBV is not meeting national needs to maximise the use of resources to deliver the EU-GBV survey. However, the interaction of the SVS, a new domestic violence prevalence survey and the EU-GBV survey, in terms of content and timelines, must be considered.

7. Third national strategy update

An overview of the actions from the Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence which identify the CSO as an organisation to lead, co-design or support the action was shared. The establishment of the agency, currently being progressed, is likely to be completed in 2023 and the policy and research units of the Department will retain the relevant briefs until then. An update on the actions under the Third National Strategy will be addressed by the Department.

8. Next meeting

December 2022 was agreed as the month for the next official Steering Group meeting. A date will be agreed closer to the time.

9. AOB

There was no AOB.