Meeting 7: 9th September 2020

Sexual Violence Survey Steering Group Meeting

Videoconference between Central Statistics Office and Department of Justice and Equality

9th September 2020 10:30am

Agenda

1. Introduction – DJE chair

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

3. Update from CSO on development work to date
    a. 2021 outline

4. Finance
    a. 2020 update on spend
    b. 2021 request

5. Next meeting – December 2020

6. AOB

Minutes

Attendees:

• Philip McCormack, Research Officer, Department of Justice and Equality (Chair)
• Keith McSweeney, Senior Statistician, Central Statistics Office
• Helen McGrath, Statistician, Central Statistics Office

1. Introduction
The Chair welcomed all members of the steering group. Apologies were noted from Gurchand Singh.

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
A progress report was issued to the Department prior to the meeting and CSO gave a brief summary of the document. Since the previous steering group meeting, the office has:

• Agreed an approach for 2021 – continued development work and a pilot. This was decided within the context of COVID-19 restrictions, changes to other survey operations and a clear commitment by the office to the project. See point A.
• IT development work has continued with the incorporation of the software into the survey delivery infrastructure as well as exploring some technical solutions to delivering the web-based survey design.
• The membership of the CSO Social Statistics Ethics Committee has not been finalised due to the COVID-19 lockdown. It is estimated to be rescheduled towards the end of the year subject to working conditions.

A. 2021 approach
The office is committed to delivering on this important project. Due to the uncertainty around the ability of the field staff to enter a house to conduct a survey, the office has evaluated alternative approaches to deliver the survey. The following requirements for data quality and privacy, reducing distress for the respondent and protecting interviewers from vicarious trauma but also reducing the chance of catching or spreading COVID infections were considered.

Hence, over 2021, the workplan will concentrate on these deliverables:
- A survivor test of the questionnaire – the outline of which is already agreed between SDC and RAP and was shared at the last meeting.
- A pilot conducted and analysed. This pilot will look at two approaches to approaching household:

1. CAPI(recruit) /CAWI - A field operation with a sample size of 600 cases.
This will require about 10 interviewers for 6 weeks. The location of the areas involved will only be determined once the interviewers are identified.
2. CAWI only - A web based operation with a sample size of 1,000 cases.
A CAWI only test is the closest mode to the originally preferred mode and key elements such as survey drop out, response rates and item non-response will be examined.

In this design the SVS questions will be asked through one instrument – a web-based survey.

A critical assumption for the design of the pilot is that a minimum level of field operations will be possible in 2021. If there is a national lockdown or a lockdown affecting the areas included for the field-based element of the pilot, then the pilot will proceed with the web only option.

If neither approach is viable, then the SVS survey will revert to its original mode of CAPI/CASI. This will mean a pilot in this mode only when normal field operations have resumed with a main survey held after that.

4. Finance
An overview report on 2020 spend was issued in advance. Due to the postponement of the pilot, the actual costs for SVS show a large underspend. The CSO will formally request the budget from the department and the Department will confirm that the figures are included in the estimate to DPER.

5. Next meeting
A date in early December was proposed as the date for the next official Steering Group meeting. A virtual meeting will be booked and can be revised closer to the date if restrictions are lifted in the interim.

6. AOB
The CSO shared that they will be presenting an update on SVS at the upcoming SATU Annual Study Day in October.