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Nearly 15 percent of Irish adults have been raped at some point in their life, while one in three experienced some form of sexual violence, according to a new study.
Researchers from Trinity College Dublin and the University of Maynooth examined the prevalence of sexual violence in the Republic in a nationally representative sample of 1,020 people who self-reported their stories.
Participants were recruited from existing research panels and asked to participate in an unspecified survey by the Irish research company Qualtrics. Sampling methods were then used to select the participants so that the sample was representative of the population in terms of gender, age, and geographic distribution.
The researchers found that one in five women has been raped, defined as vaginal, anal or oral penetration, in her lifetime, compared with one in 10 men.
Bullying
About 31 percent of Irish adults experienced sexual harassment, which is unwanted sexualized comments or behavior other than penetration.
The prevalence of sexual violence varied “significantly” between men and women, according to the report, with 49% of women and 19% of men reporting being sexually assaulted or harassed.
Of the people who experienced sexual violence, about 8.5% experienced it during childhood, 15.8% during adolescence, and 16.7% in adulthood.
Dr Frédérique Vallières, director of the Trinity Center for Global Health at Trinity College Dublin and co-director of the study, said that sexual violence is a “gender issue.”
“It is women who bear the brunt of sexual violence in society. It is the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and it is women who experience this most. “
Dr Philip Hyland, associate professor of psychology at Maynooth University, said these figures illustrate how sexual violence was “almost pervasive” in Irish society.
“It’s easy to think that in Ireland we’ve made great progress and it’s not in our backyard, but it is. If you are in college or at work, someone sitting next to you is likely to be a victim of sexual violence, ”he said.
The researchers believe their findings are likely to be “underestimated” as people in institutions such as hospitals, prisons or mental health facilities were not included in the sample.
Sexual violence
The study also examined the effect sexual violence can have on the mental health of victims, and the researchers found that those who experienced these events were more likely to suffer from a variety of mental health problems.
However, “socio-ecological indicators,” such as education, employment and a committed relationship, were largely unaffected by the violence they suffered, the researchers say.
Noeline Blackwell, executive director of the Dublin Rape Crisis Center, said the findings demonstrate the need for additional supports for these people.
“As it is now, people might have to wait 12 to 18 months for service and that is absolutely unacceptable,” he said. “When you don’t address something that has hit you deep inside and is often a breach of trust, then like any other wound, it rots and can make it harder to heal.”
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