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.
Of those aged 18-24 who experienced sexual violence as an adult, and disclosed to someone, two-thirds (66%) disclosed first to a friend compared with 13% who first disclosed a family member.
Over a third of women (36%) who did not disclose any experience of sexual violence as an adult did so because they felt ashamed or embarrassed, more than twice the rate for men (15%).
Women who experienced sexual violence as a child and disclosed were more likely to identify a reason for disclosure was that they wanted to get help for themselves (23%) compared with men (13%).
For those aged 18-24 who experienced sexual violence as a child, and disclosed to someone, over half (56%) made it known to someone less than six months after the experience began.
Of those who disclosed their experience of sexual violence, over one in ten adults (12%) who experienced sexual violence as a child disclosed to the police, compared with 5% of adults who experienced sexual violence as an adult and disclosed to the police.
Overall, most adults who experienced sexual violence as an adult did not use a service, (79%), with very little difference between men (80%) and women (79%) in this respect.
Most people (83%) who experienced sexual violence as a child and used a support service found it helpful.
This publication is derived from the Sexual Violence Survey (SVS) which was conducted between May and December 2022. The objective of the survey was to provide high quality national prevalence data on sexual violence in Ireland which will act as a new baseline for the levels of sexual violence in Ireland. In the survey, sexual violence is defined as a range of non-consensual experiences, from non-contact experiences to non-consensual sexual intercourse. The word ‘violence’ is sometimes associated with the use of force. However, as outlined in the Luxembourg Guidelines, which is a set of guidelines to harmonise terms on childhood sexual violence and abuse, ‘violence’ can also mean an event that had a marked or powerful effect on someone.
For the data collection phase, the survey was known as the “Safety of the Person” survey in accordance with ethical guidelines to ensure a graduated introduction to the survey and to better ensure the personal safety of respondents who may be in an ongoing abusive relationship. To ensure that a wide range of respondents could engage with the survey, a range of data collection modes were used: secure web form, self-completion facilitated by an interviewer, and a paper form. Despite the sensitive nature of the survey, more than 4,500 respondents took part. An FAQ for the survey is available.
Sexual violence is defined in this survey as a range of non-consensual experiences, from non-contact experiences to non-consensual sexual intercourse. See Background Notes for further details. In addition, where the word “reported” is used in this publication it means that the person told the CSO as part of this survey.
Comparing the results of sensitive surveys like the SVS to other surveys or the results from other countries can be very challenging. Comparability between surveys on similar topics must take into consideration with several factors, such as differences between definitions of variables over time and between countries, how the survey is introduced or collected, etc. For further information, see the Introduction to the publication and the Background Notes.
A presentation outlining the key points in the publication is available on the CSO website. Please visit the Publication Briefing page to view the recording and download the presentation slides.
Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.
Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) today (31 July 2023) released Sexual Violence Survey 2022 – Disclosure of Experiences. This publication is part of a series of results derived from the Sexual Violence Survey (SVS) which was conducted by the CSO in 2022 (see Editor’s Note below for more details). These publications were Sexual Violence Survey 2022 - Main Results published on 19 April 2023; Sexual Violence Survey 2022 - Adult Experiences on 18 May 2023; and Sexual Violence Survey 2022 - Childhood Experiences on 22 June 2023. Two more publications on sexual harassment and attitudes to sexual violence are due to be published later this year (see Publication Plan in the Introduction for more details).
Commenting on the results, Helen McGrath, Statistician in the Social Analysis Section, said:
“Today’s publication is the fourth in a series of releases examining the prevalence of sexual violence in Ireland and provides detailed analysis specifically around the disclosure of experiences. This latest publication builds on the recent publication of the Sexual Violence Survey 2022 – Main Results. In that report, we highlighted the prevalence of sexual violence in Ireland and found that four in ten adults reported experiencing sexual violence over their lifetime and 47% of those disclosed at least one experience of sexual violence to someone.
When we refer to disclosure to someone or to others, it refers to having told one person or many persons or an organisation/group. The experiences referred to in this publication range across a variety of experiences up to and including those which result in the most serious violations of personal dignity.
We appreciate that behind the data in today’s 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. The publication today presents greater additional insight on the disclosure of sexual violence for those who have experienced it.
Adult Experiences and Disclosure
Sexual violence experiences as an adult cover those which occurred over the age of consent in Ireland (17 years) which were shared in the survey by respondents who were aged 18 or over. Sexual violence as an adult is defined as a range of non-consensual experiences, from non-consensual sexual touching to non-consensual sexual intercourse. (For more on the definitions used in this publication see Editor’s Note below and the Background Notes).
Overall, almost half of adults who experienced sexual violence as an adult (49%) did not disclose to someone, with little difference between men and women (51% and 49% respectively).
People aged 18-24 had the highest level of disclosure rates (51%), with those aged 65 and over having the lowest (27%). Almost three in ten adults (29%) who disclosed an experience of sexual violence as an adult did so because they wanted to get help for themselves.
Almost half of adults (48%) who experienced sexual violence as an adult and did not disclose, indicated that they thought what happened was not serious enough. For those who did reveal an experience of sexual violence as an adult, they were most likely to disclose to someone less than six months (67%) after the sexual violence experience, and most likely to disclose to a friend (56%).
Childhood Experiences and Disclosure
Childhood experiences cover those which occurred under the age of consent in Ireland (17 years) which were shared in the survey by respondents who were aged 18 or over. No child was interviewed for this survey. Sexual violence as a child is defined as a range of unwanted experiences from non-contact experiences to contact experiences. These experiences are not described as “non-consensual” as these individuals were under the age of consent at the time, hence the use of the term “unwanted”.
Overall, women (47%) reported higher levels of disclosure of an experience of childhood sexual violence than men (25%). People aged 55-64 had the highest level of disclosure rates (42%), with those aged 25-34 having the lowest (34%).
More than one in five adults (21%) who disclosed an experience of childhood sexual violence did so because they wanted to get help for themselves.
Almost four in ten adults (38%) indicated that they did not disclose an experience of childhood sexual violence as they thought what happened was not serious enough. For those who did disclose an experience of childhood sexual violence, they were most likely to tell someone less than six months (46%) after the sexual violence experience and most likely to tell a family member (45%).
Disclosure to Police
Please also note that “police” refers to An Garda Síochána or any other relevant policing authority in another country. In the survey, details relating to the sexual violence experience did not capture whether the experience happened in Ireland or another country, either for those who lived in a different country before moving to Ireland or for those who may have experienced sexual violence on a short-term period abroad. Hence the term “police” is used to acknowledge that the experience, and any related disclosure, may have occurred in a different policing jurisdiction to Ireland.
In general, most people do not disclose their experiences to the police. For those who disclosed to others, 93% of those who experienced sexual violence as an adult and 81% of those who experienced sexual violence as a child did not disclose to the police.
The most frequently selected reason people did not disclose to the police was that they thought the experience was not serious enough. Almost six in ten (59%) adults who experienced sexual violence as an adult and 41% of adults who experienced sexual violence as a child selected this. The next most frequently selected reason for not disclosing to the police was because they felt ashamed or embarrassed, with 32% who experienced sexual violence as an adult and 28% of those who experienced sexual violence as a child identifying this.
Use of Services
In the survey, the type of services that could be used by someone who experienced sexual violence are grouped in general categories, for example, using a medical service, support service, etc.
Overall, most people did not use a service following their experience. About eight in ten adults (79% of those who experienced sexual violence as an adult and 81% of those who experienced sexual violence as a child) did not use a service.
The most popular service used was a support service with 7% of those who experienced sexual violence as an adult and 8% of those who experienced sexual violence as a child using it. A support service includes any services providing counselling or psychological support.
Most adults identified that the support service was helpful. Of those who used the service, 85% of those who experienced sexual violence as an adult and 83% of those who experienced sexual violence as a child reported that it was helpful.
The most frequently selected reason why people did not use a service was that they thought it was not serious enough, with more than half (59%) of those who experienced sexual violence as an adult and over four in ten (43%) of those who experienced sexual violence as a child indicating this.
Lifetime Experiences and Disclosure
Experience of sexual violence in their lifetime refers to those who experienced sexual violence at least once in their lifetime, whether as an adult or as a child, or both. It is based on replies from those aged 18 and over.
Please note that 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.
In common with the previous publications on Adult and Childhood Experiences, women reported having experienced higher levels of sexual violence than men in their lifetime. Almost half (48%) of those with a third level education reported experiencing sexual violence in their lifetime compared with 15% of those with up to a primary level of education. Bisexuals and gay/lesbian people reported higher levels of sexual violence (72% and 57% respectively) than heterosexual/straight people (39%). These themes around prevalence levels are replicated in disclosure levels – for instance, women and younger people were more likely to disclose. Women who experienced sexual violence in their lifetime were more likely to have disclosed at least one experience (53%) than men (34%).
Appreciation
The CSO would like to thank everyone who took part in this survey. We are extremely conscious that this survey was very sensitive. We are very appreciative of the trust respondents put in us in terms of our conduct of the survey and in how we will protect the confidentiality of their experiences. Each person who engaged with this survey has helped the CSO to present a clear picture of the prevalence of sexual violence in Ireland.
We would also like to thank the 500 or so respondents who indicated that they had not disclosed any of their sexual violence experience(s) to anyone, but these respondents did feel comfortable enough to share their experience with the CSO. We are grateful to those people for placing their trust in us, to all those who took part in the survey, and everyone who contributed to this project.”