'Red tape and bureaucracy' create barriers to reporting sexual violence at our universities 

Advocates say universities must improve their reporting systems when it concerns sexual harassment and assault

At Munster Technological University’s Cork campus, student union welfare officer Patrycja Zbikowska said it works with students experiencing some form of harassment every few weeks. File picture

In March, with thousands of tourists descended on Dublin for St Patrick’s Day festivities, the students’ union at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) hung a banner from its Nassau Street Entrance in solidarity with survivors of sexual violence.

TCD students’ union president Jenny Maguire told the Irish Examiner she believes sexual harassment and assault figures remain under-reported in higher education institutions.