The Sexual Violence Survey 2022 – Main Results was published on 19 April 2023. Data within the publication were revised on 1 June 2023. These data revisions were due to a formatting issue. All content relating to the tables, including the text of the statistical release, Press Conference 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 - Main Results.
The chapter outlines summary details of the prevalence of sexual violence in Ireland. Lifetime prevalence in this context refers to the proportion of the population who have ever experienced sexual violence. Sexual violence is defined as a range of non-consensual experiences from non-contact experiences to non-consensual sexual intercourse. See the Background Notes for further details.
The data in this chapter is based on those who reported having experienced sexual violence at some point in their lifetime, as well as data on those who reported having not experienced sexual violence in their lifetime. Where the text refers to sexual violence experienced as an adult, it covers experiences which occurred over the age of consent in Ireland (17 years). Where the text refers to sexual violence experienced as a child, it covers unwanted experiences which occurred under the age of consent in Ireland (17 years) which were reported in the survey by respondents who were all aged 18 or over (it covers the sexual violence they experienced as a child – it does not cover current levels of child sexual violence). When the text refers to an experience in their lifetime it means that the person experienced this at least once in the lifetime – either an adult or child experience.
Overall, women reported having experienced higher levels of sexual violence than men. The data also highlights a clear sex and age difference in terms of experiences of sexual violence, with younger people reported having experienced sexual violence at higher levels than older persons. Women aged 18-24 reported the highest levels of sexual violence experienced in their lifetime at 65% compared with 17% for men aged 65 and over. See Table 3.1.
65%
of women aged 18-24
reported sexual violence experienced in their lifetime
Source: CSO Ireland, Sexual Violence Survey 2022 – Main Results
Key findings for those who experienced sexual violence:
- Four in ten adults (40%) experienced sexual violence at least once in their lifetime. Close to three in ten adults experienced sexual violence as an adult (26%) and as a child (29%). See Table 3.1.
- Women experienced higher levels of sexual violence in their lifetime (52%) than men (28%). Similarly, women reported experiencing higher levels of sexual violence as an adult (39%) than men (12%) - over three times the rate. See Figure 3.1.
- Rates for women who experienced sexual violence as a child (36%) or as an adult (39%) are similar. However, men experienced sexual violence as a child (22%) at a rate which was almost double the rate as an adult (12%).
- In general, younger people reported experiencing sexual violence at a higher rate than older people. Over five in ten (52%) younger people aged 18-24 experienced sexual violence in their lifetime compared with almost three in ten (27%) aged 65 and over. People aged 25-34 experienced the highest rate of sexual violence as an adult (36%) compared with 13% of those aged 65 and over. See Figure 3.2.
- For those aged 18-24, three in ten (33%) men experienced sexual violence as a child compared with five in ten (49%) women in this age group.
- Younger men aged 18-24 experienced sexual violence in their lifetime (39%) at almost double the rate of those men aged 65 and over (17%). Similarly, younger women aged 18-24 experienced sexual violence in their lifetime (65%) at a far higher rate than those aged 65 and over (35%).
- No reply was given to these questions by 7% of respondents to experiences as an adult and 12% of respondents to experiences as a child.
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X-axis label | Male | Female |
As an adult | 12 | 39 |
As a child | 22 | 36 |
In their lifetime | 28 | 52 |
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X-axis label | At least once in their lifetime |
18-24 | 52 |
25-34 | 47 |
35-44 | 43 |
45-54 | 39 |
55-64 | 38 |
65 years and over | 27 |
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Table 3.1 Experience of sexual violence by sex and age group, 2022
Key findings for those who experienced sexual violence by the stage in life when it occurred:
- Women almost four times more likely to have experienced sexual violence both as an adult and as a child (23%) than men (6%). See Figure 3.3 and Table 3.2.
- Overall, 15% of adults experienced sexual violence as an adult and as a child compared with 11% of adults who experienced sexual violence as an adult-only and 14% who experienced it as a child-only.
- Women experienced sexual violence as an adult-only at over twice the rate of men (16% compared with 6%). See Figure 3.3.
- Young people aged 18-24 experienced sexual violence both as an adult and as a child (22%) at a higher rate than as an adult-only (11%) or as a child-only (19%). This pattern was different for those aged 65 and over - older people reported experiencing sexual violence as a child-only (14%) at a higher rate than as an adult-only (4%) or as both an adult and a child (8%).
- Young women (aged 18-24) experienced sexual violence both as an adult and as a child (35%) at almost four times the rate that young men did (9%). Young men experienced sexual violence as a child-only (24%) at a higher rate than young women (14%).
- No reply was given to these questions by 7% of respondents.
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X-axis label | Male | Female |
As an adult-only | 6 | 16 |
As a child-only | 15 | 12 |
Both as an adult and a child | 6 | 23 |
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Table 3.2 Experience of sexual violence by stage in life when it occurred, 2022
Key findings for those who experienced sexual violence by the type of experience:
- One in five (21%) women experienced non-consensual sexual intercourse at least once in their lifetime. Non-consensual sexual intercourse is defined as sexual intercourse where the person was coerced, threatened or forced into having sex. Women experienced four times the rate of non-consensual sexual intercourse (21%) than men (5%) over their lifetime. Women experienced over three times the rate of attempted non-consensual sexual intercourse (23%) than men (7%). Across all types of sexual violence experiences, women experienced higher rates than men. See Figure 3.4 and Table 3.3.
- Adults experienced over double the rate of non-consensual sexual touching in their lifetime (30%) than non-consensual sexual intercourse (13%). Over four in ten women (43%) experienced non-consensual sexual touching in their lifetime compared with around two in ten men (17%). 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 aged 65 and over reported experiencing the lowest rates across all types of sexual violence experiences. The highest rate for this age group across the types of sexual violence experiences was the one in five (21%) who experienced non-consensual sexual touching.
- People aged 25-34 reported experiencing the highest rates across all types of sexual violence experiences except for non-consensual sexual non-contact. Sexual non-contact experiences include being shown pornographic material, being asked to pose in a sexually suggestive manner for photographs, having someone expose themselves or someone masturbating in front of a child. The most prevalent experience for this age group was non-consensual sexual touching, experienced by almost four in ten (37%) adults.
- In general, reported rates of sexual violence experienced decreases by age for women. Three in ten (31%) women aged 25-34 experienced non-consensual sexual intercourse compared with one in ten (10%) of those aged 65 and over. Five in ten (52%) of women aged 18-24 experienced non-consensual sexual touching compared with three in ten (28%) of those aged 65 and over.
- The most prevalent sexual violence experience for men was non-consensual sexual non-contact experiences – experienced by 28% of young men (aged 18-24). The equivalent rate for women was 40%.
- Further details on the type of sexual violence experience by the stage in life when it occurred is available in the Adult Experiences and Childhood Experienes chapters and specifically in Tables 4.2 and 5.2.
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X-axis label | Male | Female |
Sexual intercourse | 5 | 21 |
Attempted sexual intercourse | 7 | 23 |
Sexual touching | 17 | 43 |
Other sexual contact | 10 | 30 |
Sexual non-contact | 16 | 25 |
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Table 3.3 Lifetime experience of sexual violence by type of experience, 2022