Alarming Figures on Sexual Violence Report Issued by CSO
In a recent report issued by the CSO following research in a sexual violence survey conducted in 2022 at the behest of the Department of Justice and Government, it revealed that 1 in 5 women in Ireland have been raped, and more than half of women have experienced some form of sexual violence.
In the first detailed research carried out to the prevalence of sexual violence in Ireland since 2001, 4 in 10 respondents to the survey revealed that they had experienced sexual violence in their lifetime, representing 52% of women and 28% of men. Moreover, 3 in 10 adults had experienced sexual violence as a child, while 1 in 4 had experienced sexual violence as an adult. Of those who had said they were victims of sexual violence, 21% of women had non-consensual sexual intercourse, 23% were victims of attempted sexual intercourse, 43% were victims of sexual touching, 30% reported other sexual contact and 25% were victims of non-sexual contact. The respective figures for men were significantly lower.
The Minister for Justice Simon Harris described the figures as ‘devastating’ including that 1 in 5 women had been raped.
What was particularly stark and upsetting was the fact that the vast majority of the victims knew the person that perpetrated these acts to them.
The Government’s 3rd National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender based violence sets out 144 detailed actions which will include the establishment of a statutory domestic sexual and gender based violence agency which will hopefully ensure a permanent and dedicated focus on this important area of work.
It is hoped that the legislation creating this new statutory agency would be published this summer. This agency would have responsibility for coordinating government actions to tackle domestic, sexual and gender-based violence including the delivery of services to victims and increasing the availability of emergency accommodation. The general scheme of this bill has been approved by the cabinet.
If you require any advice in relation to any issues relating to domestic violence, or family law generally, please do not hesitate to contact one of our solicitors- Brendan Dillon, Erika Coughlan or Aoife Cathcart on 01 2960666 for expert advice on these areas.
