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 – Sexual Harrassment was published on 26 September 2023. Data within the publication were revised on 27 September 2023. These data revisions were due to a formatting issue. All content relating to Table 4.5, including the text of the Key Findings and statistical release, Publication Briefing presentation and PxStat tables (data.cso.ie), now reflect the revised data.
Half (50%) of young adults (those aged 18-24) experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months, compared with 7% of those aged 65 and older.
Overall, one in five adults (20%) experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months with women being over twice (28%) as likely to experience sexual harassment than men (13%).
Women were almost four times more likely to have experienced inappropriate physical contact (15%) than men (4%).
Over one in twelve young adults (8%) reported they had experienced their sexual images or videos being shared without their permission in the last 12 months, compared with 1% of those aged 55-64.
Almost nine in ten adults (87%) who experienced sexual harassment reported that the perpetrator was male.
Half (50%) of men who experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months did not disclose their experience.
In the last 12 months, 3% of adults experienced stalking with fear of sexual violence (for the definition of stalking used in this publication, please see Statistician’s Comment below).
Most people (70%) who experienced stalking with fear of sexual violence in the previous 12 months disclosed to someone about the experience.
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. Sexual harassment is defined in this survey as unwanted behaviours that a person may have experienced in their daily life, which made the person feel offended, humiliated, or intimidated. This was limited to events experienced in the last 12 months.
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 harassment is defined in this survey as unwanted behaviours that a person may have experienced in their daily life, which made the person feel offended, humiliated or intimidated. This was limited to events experienced in the last 12 months. 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 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 (26 September 2023) released Sexual Violence Survey 2022 – Sexual Harassment. 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:
A final publication on attitudes to sexual violence is 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 fifth in a series of releases examining the prevalence of sexual violence in Ireland and provides detailed analysis specifically around the related topic of sexual harassment in Ireland. This latest publication builds on the recent publication of the Sexual Violence Survey 2022 – Main Results.
Please note that the time period across which the sexual harassment experiences were collected was the 12-month period from May 2021 to December 2022 depending on when the respondent completed the survey. It is worth noting that this period included varying levels of COVID-19 restrictions both nationally and internationally.
The variety of experiences referred to in this publication range up to and including those which resulted 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 harassment. The publication today presents insight on sexual harassment for those who have experienced it.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is defined in this survey as unwanted behaviours that a person may have experienced in the last 12 months, which made the person feel offended, humiliated, or intimidated (for more on the definitions used in this publication see Editor’s Note below and the Background Notes).
Overall, younger people reported higher levels of experiencing sexual harassment in the last 12 months, with 50% of those aged 18-24 experiencing sexual harassment compared with 7% of those aged 65 and over. Women reported experiencing sexual harassment in the last 12 months at a higher rate (28%) than men (13%).
Nationally, the most prevalent sexual harassment experience was where remarks of a sexual nature were made while not online (for example, in person, by text, or phone call). This included crude or sexually explicit remarks that the person found offensive, humiliating, or intimidating. Overall, 12% of adults experienced this in the last 12 months, compared with 2% who experienced sexual images or videos of them being shared without their permission.
More men (47%) than women (38%) who experienced sexual harassment, reported that it happened once. Almost nine in ten (87%) adults who experienced sexual harassment reported that the perpetrator was male. The most prevalent location for sexual harassment was in a pub/club/disco, with 25% of men and 31% of women reporting this as a location of an experience. Overall, more than half of adults (52%) who experienced sexual harassment in the previous 12 months disclosed to someone, and they were most likely to tell a friend (67%).
Stalking with Fear of Sexual Violence
Stalking means persistent, unwanted actions such as following you, waiting for you, contacting you by phone, text and/or social media, that are against your wishes or imply threats. This survey was specific to the topic of sexual violence. As stalking in general involves a wider scope of unwanted behaviours incorporating aspects of domestic violence or coercive control, the question on stalking in this CSO survey focused on where a person feared they were at risk of sexual violence. Hence this variable is described as “stalking with fear of sexual violence”.
In common with the previous publications on sexual violence experiences (Main Results, Adult Experiences and Childhood Experiences), women reported having experienced stalking with fear of sexual violence (4%) at a higher level than men (1%) in the last 12 months. The majority (96%) of those who experienced stalking with fear of sexual violence reported that it was one person, and this was most likely to be a male (92%). Most people tell someone about the experience. Seven in ten (70%) adults who experienced stalking with fear of sexual violence in the previous 12 months disclosed to someone about the experience. They were most likely to tell a friend with almost three-quarters of adults selecting this (74%).
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 and harassment 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.”