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Sexual Violence Survey 2022 – Adult Experiences

Partner Experiences

CSO statistical publication, 18 May 2023, 11am

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If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this survey, help is available from the following national helplines or from local/regional helplines which you can find in the Background Notes.

The Sexual Violence Survey 2022 – Adult Experiences was published on 18 May 2023. Data within the publication were revised on 1 June 2023. These data revisions were due to a formatting issue relating to the marital status classification where the divorced/legally separated and widowed were incorrectly labelled. All content relating to the tables, including the text of the statistical release, Publication Briefing presentation and PxStat tables (data.cso.ie), now reflect the revised data.

Details as to the extent of these revisions on previously published data can be found in the Information Note Sexual Violence Survey - Adult Experiences.

Overall sexual violence experienced as an adult with a partner

This chapter looks at the overall prevalence of sexual violence experienced as an adult with a partner in Ireland, analysed by a range of sociodemographic characteristics. Sexual violence as an adult is defined in this survey as a range of non-consensual experiences from non-consensual sexual touching to non-consensual sexual intercourse. See Background Notes for further details. Where the text refers to sexual violence with a partner, this relates to experiences with both a partner or with an ex-partner. In this survey, a partner is defined as a person that they are/were married to, living with, a boyfriend/girlfriend or someone they are/were regularly dating.

The demographic characteristics provided are based on the information given by the respondent when the survey was collected, and so may not necessarily accord with their demographic profile when the sexual violence took place (for example, they may have had a lower educational level when the sexual violence occurred but have a higher educational level now when engaging with the survey).

This chapter covers sexual violence experiences where a person was able to consent but did not and sexual violence experiences where the person was unable to give consent to what they experienced or stop what was happening (where the person reported that they had sexual intercourse when they could not give consent, or stop what was happening because they were asleep, passed out or under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs).

In summary, certain cohorts showed consistently higher levels of sexual violence experienced as an adult with a partner. These include amongst others, women, those who were divorced/legally separated, and bisexual people. One in four (25%) women experienced sexual violence as an adult with a partner. Almost one in five (18%) of those who were divorced/legally separated reported experiencing non-consensual sexual intercourse when they were able to give consent but did not give it. Almost one in four (24%) bisexual people reported experiencing non-consensual sexual intercourse as an adult with a partner. Further information on the overlap between partner and non-partner experiences was published in the Perpetrator of Sexual Violence chapter in the Sexual Violence Survey 2022 - Main Results publication.

18%

of those divorced or legally separated

experienced non-consensual sexual intercourse as an adult with a partner

Source: CSO Ireland, Sexual Violence Survey 2022 – Adult Experiences

Almost one in four women experienced sexual violence as an adult with a partner

Key findings for sexual violence experienced as an adult with a partner:

One in four (25%) women experienced sexual violence as an adult with a partner. This was over four times the level for men at 6%. See Table 4.1.
Those aged 25-34 reported experiencing sexual violence as an adult with a partner at over three times the rate (23%) than those aged 65 and over (7%). See Figure 4.1.
People with a third level education reported experiencing sexual violence as an adult with a partner at four times the rate (20%) than those with a primary level of education or below (5%).
Almost one in five (19%) adults with a disability reported experiencing sexual violence as an adult with a partner. This compares with the equivalent rate of 14% for those without a disability.
Those who were divorced/legally separated were more likely to have experienced sexual violence as an adult with a partner (25%) compared with those who were single (20%) or those widowed (10%).
Those who were unable to work due to long-standing health problems and those who were fulfilling domestic tasks reported a higher level of sexual violence as an adult with a partner (both 23%) compared with those employed (18%). The lowest rate for sexual violence experienced as an adult by principal economic status was for those who were retired, with 6% of this cohort reporting sexual violence as an adult with a partner.
Those who were “White - Irish Traveller/Roma/other white background” were more likely to have reported experiencing sexual violence as an adult with a partner (19%) than those who were “Asian or Asian Irish” (7%).
Bisexual people reported almost double the level (37%) of sexual violence as an adult with a partner compared with gay/lesbian people (19%). The equivalent rate for heterosexual/straight people was 15%.

X-axis label	Age group
18-24	17
25-34	23
35-44	20
45-54	16
55-64	12
65 years and over	7

Table 4.1 Adult experience of sexual violence with a partner by sociodemographic variables, 2022

Table 4.1 Adult¹ experience of sexual violence² with a partner by sociodemographic variables³, 2022
% of persons aged 18 years and over
	Experienced sexual violence as an adult with a partner
	Yes	No	Not stated⁴	Total
State	16	77	7	100

Sex
Male	6	87	7	100
Female	25	68	7	100

Age group⁵
18-24	17	77	6	100
25-34	23	70	7	100
35-44	20	72	8	100
45-54	16	77	8	100
55-64	12	84	4	100
65 years and over	7	84	9	100

Highest level of education attained
Primary or below	5	82	13	100
Lower secondary	8	85	7	100
Higher secondary	13	81	7	100
Post leaving certificate	18	76	6	100
Third level	20	73	7	100

Principal Economic Status
Employed	18	77	5	100
Unemployed	17	79	4	100
Retired	6	86	7	100
Unable to work due to long-standing health problems	23	72	5	100
Student	16	81	3	100
Fulfilling domestic tasks	23	74	3	100
Other⁶	12	43	45	100

Citizenship
Irish	16	78	6	100
Non Irish	14	78	8	100
Not stated	[0]	[8]	[92]	100

Marital status⁷
Single	20	74	6	100
Married	13	80	7	100
Widowed	10	83	7	100
Divorced or legally separated	25	67	8	100

Disability
Yes	19	75	6	100
No	14	81	5	100
Not stated	0	15	85	100

Ethnicity
White - Irish	16	78	6	100
White - Irish traveller /Roma /other	19	74	7	100
Black or Black Irish	[10]	[77]	[13]	100
Asian or Asian Irish	7	87	6	100
Other⁶ including mixed group /background	5	50	45	100

Sexual orientation
Heterosexual	15	79	6	100
Bisexual	37	58	5	100
Gay/lesbian	19	69	12	100
Other including asexual /questioning /unsure	18	73	9	100
Will not say /cannot say⁶	2	46	53	100
¹ Experience of sexual violence as an adult refers to those experienced over the age of consent (17 years and over). See Background Notes for further details.
² Sexual violence as an adult is defined in this survey as a range of non-consensual experiences from non-consensual sexual touching to non-consensual sexual intercourse. See Background Notes for further details.
³ Please note data may not add to 100% due to rounding issues.
⁴This represents the proportion of respondents who did not answer the question. In this survey, respondents could move through the survey and not answer questions which they did not feel comfortable answering the question.
⁵ The age group category classifies the age the respondent was when they answered the survey.
⁶ Please note this includes not stated.
⁷ See background notes for further details on marital status.
[ ] Figures in parentheses indicate percentages based on small numbers and are, therefore, subject to a wide margin of error.

Open in Excel: Sexual Violence Survey 2022 - Adult Experiences Table 4.1 (XLS 13KB)

Almost one in four bisexual people reported experiencing non-consensual sexual intercourse as an adult with a partner

Key findings for sexual violence experienced as an adult with a partner by the type of experience:

Almost one in four (24%) bisexual people reported experiencing non-consensual sexual intercourse as an adult with a partner. Non-consensual sexual intercourse is defined as sexual intercourse where the person was coerced, threatened or forced into having sex or where the person was unable to give consent. Across all types of sexual violence experiences as an adult with a partner, bisexual people experienced higher rates than others. See Table 4.2.
Women experienced over six times the rate of non-consensual sexual intercourse (13%) than men (2%) as an adult with a partner. Women experienced over four times the rate of attempted non-consensual sexual intercourse as an adult with a partner (14%) than men (3%). See Figure 4.2.
Those who were aged 25-34 experienced the highest rate of non-consensual sexual intercourse (12%) compared with the other age groups.
Those who had a third level education were three times more likely to have reported non-consensual sexual intercourse as an adult with a partner (9%) than those with a primary education or below (3%).
Across all types of sexual violence experiences as an adult with a partner, those who were unable to work due to a long-standing health problem experienced higher rates than those with other principal economic status. Those who were unable to work due to a long-standing health problem experienced over double the rate of non-consensual sexual intercourse as an adult with a partner (17%) than those who were employed (8%).
Those who were unable to work due to a long-standing health problem experienced almost double the rate of non-consensual sexual touching as an adult with a partner (20%) than those who reported they were students (11%). Non-consensual sexual touching includes instances where a person ever had their breasts and/or genitals touched by a someone without consent or were made to touch someone else’s breasts and/or genitals without their consent.
Overall, those who were “Asian or Asian Irish” reported experiencing the lowest rates across all types of sexual violence experiences as an adult with a partner. For example, the rate of non-consensual sexual intercourse as an adult with a partner for “Asian or Asian Irish” was 3%, which was over three times lower than the rate for those who were “White - Irish Traveller/Roma/other white background” at 10%.
Those who were divorced/legally separated reported that they experienced non-consensual sexual intercourse as an adult with a partner at a higher rate (18%) than those who were married (5%). Across all types of sexual violence experiences as an adult with a partner, those who were divorced/legally separated experienced higher rates than those with other marital status.

X-axis label	Male	Female
Sexual intercourse	2	13
Attempted sexual intercourse	3	14
Sexual touching	4	19
Other sexual contact	3	13

Table 4.2 Adult experience of non-consensual sexual violence with a partner by type of experience, 2022

Table 4.2 Adult¹ experience of non-consensual sexual violence² with a partner by type of experience^3,4, 2022
% of persons aged 18 years and over
	Type of non-consensual sexual violence experienced as an adult with a partner
	Sexual intercourse			Attempted sexual intercourse			Sexual touching			Other sexual contact
	Yes	No	Not stated⁵	Yes	No	Not stated⁵	Yes	No	Not stated⁵	Yes	No	Not stated⁵
State	7	85	8	8	83	9	12	81	7	8	84	8

Sex
Male	2	90	8	3	88	9	4	88	8	3	89	9
Female	13	80	7	14	78	8	19	74	7	13	79	7

Age group⁶
18-24	8	86	6	8	85	6	14	81	6	9	85	6
25-34	12	80	8	12	80	8	18	75	7	16	77	8
35-44	10	82	9	11	79	10	15	77	8	9	81	9
45-54	8	84	8	9	82	10	11	81	8	8	83	9
55-64	6	90	4	7	87	5	9	87	4	6	90	4
65 years and over	2	89	9	3	86	11	5	86	9	2	88	10

Highest level of education attained
Primary or below	3	84	13	2	83	15	5	82	13	3	84	14
Lower secondary	3	89	8	4	86	10	6	87	7	3	89	8
Higher secondary	6	86	7	7	85	8	9	84	7	7	85	8
Post leaving certificate	8	85	7	9	83	8	14	79	7	9	83	7
Third level	9	83	7	11	81	8	14	79	7	10	82	7

Principal Economic Status
Employed	8	86	6	9	84	7	13	81	5	9	84	6
Unemployed	10	85	5	13	81	6	13	83	4	12	83	5
Retired	2	90	8	3	88	9	4	89	8	2	89	8
Unable to work due to long-standing health problems	17	77	6	17	76	7	20	75	5	15	79	6
Student	7	90	3	8	89	3	11	86	3	8	89	3
Fulfilling domestic tasks	10	88	3	10	85	4	16	81	3	8	89	3
Other⁷	6	49	45	6	48	46	10	44	46	8	47	45

Citizenship
Irish	8	86	7	9	84	8	12	82	6	8	85	7
Non Irish	8	85	8	8	83	10	10	82	8	8	82	9
Not stated	[0]	[8]	[92]	[0]	[8]	[92]	[0]	[8]	[92]	[0]	[8]	[92]

Marital status⁸
Single	10	83	7	10	82	7	15	78	6	11	82	7
Married	5	87	8	7	84	10	9	83	8	6	86	8
Widowed	4	89	7	3	89	8	7	86	8	5	87	9
Divorced or legally separated	18	74	9	16	74	10	22	70	8	16	75	9

Disability
Yes	10	83	6	11	82	7	15	79	6	12	82	6
No	6	89	5	7	86	6	10	85	5	6	88	5
Not stated	0	15	85	0	15	85	0	15	85	0	15	85

Ethnicity
White - Irish	7	86	6	8	84	7	12	82	6	8	85	7
White - Irish traveller /Roma /other	10	83	7	11	81	9	14	79	7	12	80	8
Black or Black Irish	[9]	[79]	[13]	[8]	[76]	[16]	[9]	[79]	[13]	[10]	[77]	[13]
Asian or Asian Irish	3	90	7	6	87	7	5	89	6	3	91	6
Other⁷ including mixed group /background	5	50	45	3	52	45	5	50	45	3	53	45

Sexual orientation
Heterosexual	7	86	7	8	84	8	11	82	6	8	85	7
Bisexual	24	69	6	21	72	6	30	65	5	25	69	6
Gay/lesbian	6	82	12	10	77	13	14	74	12	12	76	12
Other including asexual /questioning /unsure	12	79	9	11	78	10	17	74	9	10	81	9
Will not say /cannot say⁷	1	45	54	2	41	57	2	46	53	2	41	57
¹ Experience of sexual violence as an adult refers to those experienced over the age of consent (17 years and over). See Background Notes for further details.
² Sexual violence as an adult is defined in this survey as a range of non-consensual experiences from non-consensual sexual touching to non-consensual sexual intercourse. See Background Notes for further details.
³ Definitions for each type of experience are detailed in the Background Notes. Adults may have experienced more than one type of experience in one sexual violence episode or in many episodes. Note that non-consensual sexual touching refers to someone touching a person’s breasts/genitals without their consent or being made to touch another's breasts/genitals. Non-consensual other sexual contact includes other not specified sexual contact which was attempted or occurred.
⁴ Please note data may not add to 100% due to rounding issues.
⁵This represents the proportion of respondents who did not answer the question. In this survey, respondents could move through the survey and not answer questions which they did not feel comfortable answering the question.
⁶ The age group category classifies the age the respondent was when they answered the survey.
⁷ Please note this includes not stated.
⁸ See background notes for further details on marital status.
[ ] Figures in parentheses indicate percentages based on small numbers and are, therefore, subject to a wide margin of error.

Open in Excel: Sexual Violence Survey 2022 - Adult Experiences Table 4.2 (XLS 16KB)

Over one in six of those who were divorced/legally separated reported experiencing non-consensual sexual intercourse when they were able to give consent but did not give it

Key findings for sexual violence experienced as an adult with a partner by their ability to give consent:

Over one in six (16%) of those who were divorced/legally separated reported experiencing non-consensual sexual intercourse when they were able to give consent but did not give it. This consists of the 9% of those divorced/legally separated who only experienced non-consensual sexual intercourse when they were able to give consent but did not give it and 7% who experienced non-consensual sexual intercourse both when they were able to give consent but did not give it and were unable to give consent. Situations where a person was unable to give consent to the type of sexual violence they experienced included when they could not give consent, or stop what was happening because they were asleep, passed out or under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. See Table 4.3.
Overall, 4% of the adult population experienced non-consensual sexual intercourse as an adult with a partner when they were unable to give consent. This consists of the 2% of adults who only experienced non-consensual sexual intercourse when they were unable to give consent and 2% who experienced non-consensual sexual intercourse when they were able to give consent but did not and who also were unable to give consent.
Men who experienced non-consensual sexual intercourse and were able to give consent but did not give it represented 1% of men. The equivalent rate for women was 6%.
There was an age effect where those younger reported experiencing higher levels of non-consensual sexual intercourse when they were unable to give consent. This was experienced by 8% of those aged 25-34. This consists of the 3% of those aged 25-34 who only experienced non-consensual sexual intercourse when they were unable to give consent and 5% who experienced non-consensual sexual intercourse when they were able to give consent but did not and who also were unable to give consent. The equivalent rate for those aged 55-64 was 3%.

Table 4.3 Adult experience of non-consensual sexual intercourse with a partner by their ability to give consent, 2022

Table 4.3 Adult¹ experience of non-consensual sexual intercourse² with a partner by their ability to give consent³, 2022
% of persons aged 18 years and over
	Experienced non-consensual sexual intercourse as an adult with a partner
	Adult able to give consent but did not give it only⁴	Adult unable to give consent only⁴	Adult was both able and unable to give consent⁵	No experience of non-consensual sexual intercourse as an adult with a partner	Not stated⁶	Total
State	3	2	2	85	8	100

Sex
Male	1	1	0	90	8	100
Female	6	3	4	80	7	100

Age group⁷
18-24	3	3	2	86	6	100
25-34	4	3	5	80	8	100
35-44	5	2	3	82	9	100
45-54	3	2	3	84	8	100
55-64	3	1	2	90	4	100
65 years and over	2	0	0	89	9	100

Highest level of education attained
Primary or below	2	0	1	84	13	100
Lower secondary	1	1	1	89	8	100
Higher secondary	3	1	2	86	7	100
Post leaving certificate	3	2	4	85	7	100
Third level	4	3	3	83	7	100

Principal Economic Status
Employed	4	2	3	86	6	100
Unemployed	4	4	3	85	5	100
Retired	1	0	0	90	8	100
Unable to work due to long-standing health problems	8	2	7	77	6	100
Student	3	2	3	90	3	100
Fulfilling domestic tasks	5	2	3	88	3	100
Other⁸	2	0	3	49	45	100

Citizenship
Irish	3	2	2	86	7	100
Non Irish	3	1	3	85	8	100
Not stated	[0]	[0]	[0]	[8]	[92]	100

Marital status⁹
Single	4	3	3	83	7	100
Married	2	1	2	87	8	100
Widowed	3	1	0	89	7	100
Divorced or legally separated	9	1	7	74	9	100

Disability
Yes	4	2	4	83	6	100
No	3	2	1	86	8	100

Ethnicity
White - Irish	3	2	2	86	6	100
White - Irish traveller /Roma /other	4	1	4	83	7	100
Black or Black Irish	[7]	[0]	[2]	[79]	[13]	100
Asian or Asian Irish	2	0	1	90	7	100
Other⁸ including mixed group /background	1	1	3	50	45	100

Sexual orientation
Heterosexual	3	2	2	86	7	100
Bisexual	10	5	10	69	6	100
Gay/lesbian	3	2	2	82	12	100
Other including asexual /questioning /unsure	7	1	4	79	9	100
Will not say /cannot say⁸	1	0	0	45	54	100
¹ Experience of sexual violence as an adult refers to those experienced over the age of consent (17 years and over). See Background Notes for further details.
² Non-consensual sexual intercourse is defined as sexual intercourse where the person was coerced, threatened or forced into having sex. See Background Notes for further details.
³ Please note data may not add to 100% due to rounding issues.
⁴ Non consensual sexual intercourse where the adult the adult was able to give consent but did not is defined as experiences where the person experienced non-consensual sexual intercourse but they did not indicate that there was any other factors involved in the episode. Non-consensual sexual intercourse where the person was unable to give consent is defined as sexual intercourse where the person was unable to give consent to the type of sexual violence they experienced or stop what was happening because they were asleep, passed out or under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. See Background Notes for further details
⁵ This category experienced non-consensual sexual intercourse as an adult where they could have given consent but did not or where they could not give consent or stop what was happening as they were incapacitated. Adults may have experienced both types of experience in one sexual violence episode or in many episodes.
⁶ This represents the proportion of respondents who did not answer the question. In this voluntary survey, given the particular sensitivities of the questions being asked, respondents could skip questions they did not wish to answer. See Background Notes for further details.
⁷ The age group category classifies the age the respondent was when they answered the survey.
⁸ Please note that this includes not stated.
⁹ See background notes for further details on marital status.
[ ] Figures in parentheses indicate percentages based on small numbers and are, therefore, subject to a wide margin of error.

Open in Excel: Sexual Violence Survey 2022 - Adult Experiences Table 4.3 (XLS 14KB)

Next chapter: Partner Experiences - Details

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Sexual Violence Survey 2022 – Adult Experiences

Partner Experiences

Partner Experiences

National Helplines

Overall sexual violence experienced as an adult with a partner

Almost one in four women experienced sexual violence as an adult with a partner

Almost one in four bisexual people reported experiencing non-consensual sexual intercourse as an adult with a partner

Over one in six of those who were divorced/legally separated reported experiencing non-consensual sexual intercourse when they were able to give consent but did not give it

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