Sexual Violence Survey 2022 – Main Results

Perpetrator of the sexual violence experience

This chapter focuses on the nature of the relationship between the person who experienced sexual violence and the perpetrator involved in that sexual violence experience. Respondents who experienced sexual violence were asked if they knew the identity of the perpetrator and were given options to select if so, including that of “stranger”. Personally identifiable information was not collected, and the relationships are classified by broad groupings like “family member”, “person in authority”, etc. In the case where the person experienced multiple sexual violence experiences, the person was asked to respond thinking about the experience that affected them most and to note the relationship between them and the perpetrator for that particular experience. See the Background Notes for further details. Further details (for example, sex of the perpetrator, age of the perpetrator for child experiences, etc.) will be included in a future publication. See Background Notes for the detailed publication schedule. The statistics quoted in this chapter relate to those who reported experiencing sexual violence and do not relate to the overall population of adults in Ireland.

Where the text refers to the relationship of the perpetrator for the 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 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. 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. 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.

In general, most people who experienced sexual violence (78%) reported knowing who the perpetrator was, with very little difference between men and women in this respect. Males reported higher levels than women for experiencing sexual violence with a non-partner-only, while women reported higher levels than men for experiencing sexual violence from both a partner and non-partner.

The majority of adults who experienced sexual violence knew the perpetrator

• The majority of adults (78%) who experienced sexual violence at least once in their lifetime knew the perpetrator. See Table 6.1.
• Eight in ten (79%) women who experienced sexual violence in their lifetime knew the perpetrator, as did 75% of men. See Figure 6.1.
• The high recognition of who the perpetrator was, was broadly consistent across age. For example, 74% of those aged 18-24 reported knowing who the perpetrator was, compared with 72% of those aged 65 and over.

Almost four in ten women reported experiencing sexual violence as an adult with both a partner and a non-partner

Key findings for those who experienced sexual violence as an adult by the nature of the relationship with perpetrator:

• Women who experienced sexual violence as an adult were more likely to have experienced sexual violence with both a partner and a non-partner (38%) than men (25%).  See Figure 6.2 and Table 6.2.
• Men who experienced sexual violence as an adult were twice as likely to have experienced it with a non-partner-only (52%) than with a partner-only (24%) or with both a partner and non-partner only (25%).
• Adults aged 25-34 who experienced sexual violence as an adult were more likely to have experienced it with both a partner and non-partner (40%) than any other age group.
• Women aged 25-34 who experienced sexual violence as an adult were more likely to have experienced it with both a partner and non-partner (47%) than those aged 65 and over (30%).

Just over a third of adults who experienced sexual violence with a non-partner experienced it with a friend/acquaintance

Key findings for those who experienced sexual violence as an adult by the nature of the relationship with perpetrator:

• Just over a third of adults (34%) who experienced sexual violence as an adult with a non-partner experienced it with a friend/acquaintance. A further third of adults (33%) who experienced sexual violence as an adult with a non-partner, experienced it with a stranger. See Table 6.3.
• Younger adults (aged 18-24) who experienced sexual violence as an adult with a non-partner are least likely to have experienced sexual violence with a person in authority (1%). This compares with 14% of those aged 65 and over. This pattern was echoed in the female category where only 1% of younger women (aged 18-24) reported experiencing non-partner sexual violence as an adult with a person in authority, compared with 16% of women aged 65 and over. Conversely, younger adults who experienced sexual violence as an adult with a non-partner were more likely to have experienced this with a stranger (40%) than those aged 65 and over (27%). A person in authority for the adult experience was self-determined by the respondent and may include, for example, a boss, a doctor, etc. See Figure 6.3.
• Younger women (18-24) were more likely to have experienced non-partner sexual violence with a friend/acquaintance (34%) than women aged 65 and over (18%).

People who experienced unwanted non-contact sexual violence as a child were most likely to have experienced it with a stranger

Key findings for those who experienced non-contact sexual violence as a child by the nature of the relationship with perpetrator:

• People who experienced unwanted non-contact sexual violence as a child were most likely to have experienced it with a stranger (26%), compared with 4% who experienced it with a person in authority. See Table 6.4. A person in authority for the child experience was self-determined by the respondent and may include, for example, a babysitter, teacher, doctor, coach, priest.
• Women who experienced unwanted non-contact sexual violence as a child were around three times as likely to have experienced it with a stranger (34%) compared with 12% of men.
• Men who experienced unwanted non-contact sexual violence as a child were most likely to have experienced with a friend/acquaintance (35%) compared with 17% of women.
• Younger adults (18-24) who experienced unwanted non-contact sexual violence as a child were more likely to have experienced it with a friend/acquaintance (43%) compared with 11% of those aged 55 and over. However, older adults (55 and over) who experienced unwanted non-contact sexual violence as a child were more likely to have experienced it with a stranger (33%) compared with 23% of those aged 18-24 and over. See Figure 6.4.
• Men aged 55 and over who experienced unwanted non-contact sexual violence as a child were twice as likely to have experienced it with a family member/relative (17%) compared with those aged 18-24 (8%). Men aged 55 and over were three times as likely to reported experiencing this form of sexual violence with a neighbour (14%) than those aged 18-24 (4%). However, men aged 18-24 were almost twice as likely to have experienced this type of sexual violence with a friend/acquaintance (42%) than those aged 55 and over (23%).
• Women aged 18-24 who experienced unwanted non-contact sexual violence as a child were seven times more likely to have reported experiencing it with a friend/acquaintance (44%) compared with 6% of those aged 55 and over. Yet, women aged 55 and over were more likely to have experienced it with a stranger (42%) than those aged 18-24 (31%).

Adults who experienced unwanted contact sexual violence as a child were most likely to have experienced it with a family member/relative

Key findings for those who experienced contact sexual violence as a child by the nature of the relationship with perpetrator:

• Adults who experienced unwanted contact sexual violence as a child were most likely to have experienced it with a family member or relative (21%), three times the level for those reporting to having experienced it from a person in authority (7%). See Table 6.5.
• Women who experienced unwanted contact sexual violence as a child were more likely to have experienced it with a family member/relative (23%) compared with men (16%). However, men were more likely to have experienced unwanted contact sexual violence as a child with a person in authority (13%) than women (5%).
• Younger adults (18-24) who experienced unwanted contact sexual violence as a child were more likely to have experienced it with a boyfriend/girlfriend (15%) than those aged 55 and over (5%). The younger age group was also a lot more likely to have experienced it with a friend/acquaintance (43%) than those aged 55 and over (12%). See Figure 6.5.
• Older adults (55 and over) who experienced unwanted contact sexual violence as a child were more likely to have experienced it with a person in authority (12%) than those aged 18-24 (1%).
• Women aged 18-24 who experienced unwanted contact sexual violence as a child were almost four times more likely to have experienced it with a friend/acquaintance (45%) than those aged 55 and over (12%). Yet, women aged 55 and over were more likely to have experienced it with a neighbour (21%) than those aged 18-24 (3%).
• Men aged 55 and over were most likely to have experienced unwanted contact sexual violence as a child with a person in authority (20%) compared with 3% of this male age group who experienced it with a boyfriend/girlfriend.