More than half of Irish women have experienced sexual violence, CSO survey finds

Sexual violence was defined in the CSO survey as a range of non-consensual experiences, from non-contact experiences to non-consensual sexual intercourse.

Four in 10 Irish adults have experienced sexual violence, new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has shown.

The rate is higher among women (52%) than men (28%), while 78% of people who responded knew who the perpetrator was.

Sexual violence was defined in the CSO survey as a range of non-consensual experiences, from non-contact experiences to non-consensual sexual intercourse.

Young 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.

For non-consensual sexual intercourse, defined as sexual intercourse where the person was coerced, threatened or forced into having sex, women experienced four times the level (21%) in their lifetime than men (5%).

Women are almost four times more likely to have experienced sexual violence both as an adult and as a child than men.

The survey gathered responses from May to December of last year, with adults in Ireland surveyed in a randomly generated national sample.

The survey asked about child and adult experiences of sexual violence.

The statistics revealed a range of experiences up to and including those which result in the most serious violations of personal dignity. Examples of these experiences include:

• A teenager persuading a friend to watch a pornographic video on their phone when they did not want to see it; 
• Someone being persuaded to undress or pose in a sexually suggestive way for photographs as a child; 
• A young woman being made to touch another person’s genitals without her consent;
• A man being threatened to have sex.

Commenting on the results, statistician in the Social Analysis Section
Helen McGrath said:

"This publication outlines the main results from the Sexual Violence Survey which was conducted in 2022, following a request from the Department of Justice and the Government. 

"The objective of the survey is 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. The survey is proposed to be conducted again in 10 years’ time.

"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 violence. The publication today provides a lot of important detail and insight on a very serious and sensitive societal issue."

If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, help is available at from the following organisations.

• National helplines National Sexual Violence Helpline (for men and women) - 1800 778 888 or rapecrisishelp.ie 
• National Domestic Violence Helpline (for women) - 1800 341 900 
• Male Advice Line (for men experiencing domestic abuse) - 1800 816 588