'I was just a young student who wanted to do a medical degree': UCD student's life shattered by abuse images

In April last year, someone circulated images of the woman's 'naked, bruised, and unconscious' body to university staff through an unidentified ProtonMail account

Thousands of UCD students protest on the campus calling for systemic change in how UCD responds to sexual violence and gender-based harm. Photo: Sam Boal/Collins Photos

Maeve’s life was "shattered in a second" when she was called by gardaí after a “naked, bruised, and unconscious” image of her was sent to some 171 UCD staff emails last year.

The young student, Maeve (not her real name), said she received little support from the university after her alleged rape.

She did not report the incident to gardaí because she thought she would not be believed.

Now, Maeve lives in fear that images of her assault will be shared again.

In April last year, someone circulated images of Maeve's “naked, bruised, and unconscious” body to university staff through an unidentified ProtonMail account. 

The medical student said she only learned the images had been circulated when gardaí contacted her. 

She was told blocks and filters would be applied to prevent further distribution.

The emails, seen by the Irish Examiner, contained a photo and obscene messages, telling her to "kill herself" and calling her a "dirty whore" and a "slut bitch".

Another email said people "would laugh" if she slit her own throat.

Last summer, Maeve began receiving similar emails to her student inbox. She informed gardaí and personally blocked all emails originating from ProtonMail.

“I had been under the impression that the abusive ProtonMail emails had been blocked and/or filtered by UCD,” she said.

Thousands of UCD students protest on the campus calling for systemic change in how UCD responds to sexual violence and gender-based harm. Photo: Sam Boal/Collins Photos

In November 2025, someone again circulated the same photo of Maeve in her year group’s School of Medicine WhatsApp chat, which has at least 300 members. 

The message came from an unrecognised number.

Maeve claimed she received no support from UCD in relation to the image-based sexual abuse.

“I was just a young student who wanted to do a medical degree and become a doctor,” Maeve told the Irish Examiner.

“I was 17 when I entered UCD, and it failed me. How can a university fail a 17-year-old?

“I’m still figuring out the whole world, yet to live life, yet to see so many things, but I have been abandoned instead, during the worst time of my life.

“I’ve lost faith, and now I have stopped asking for help,” Maeve added.

The medical student claimed she was raped in 2023, got pregnant, and then had to get an abortion, which left her unable to sit her exams.

According to Maeve, she has not been permitted by UCD to progress with her education since September 2023 unless she agreed to drop back one year.

Speaking in the Dáil last week, People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger said the student had to take UCD to the High Court over not being allowed to sit her exams.

“She became pregnant, and she had to get a termination, and she had to miss some of her medical exams,” Ms Coppinger said.

“She asked UCD if she could sit her exams in the summer. UCD said no and they attempted to make her drop back a year.

“She hasn’t been able to continue her medical degree since 2023, as UCD has blocked her from doing so,” Ms Coppinger said.

Minister Jack Chambers called on UCD to allow her to complete her studies.

“She has gone through enough. I was shocked, as indeed everyone in this House has been, about what she has been subjected to. It is incumbent on every public institution to work with her so she can complete her studies. She has gone through enough,” he said.

Maeve said the people sharing the images have done so with impunity.

“It’s arrogance by this group of people who are sharing these images, and they realise they can get away with it because there is a lack of action,” Maeve said.

“I’m afraid it is going to happen, that the photo will be shared again, and why would these people stop if no one will take action."

The student has claimed the university brushed off her complaint.

She also claimed that no internal investigation process from UCD was offered and that no one had asked her whether “she was alright, how she was faring or whether she needed an external counsellor".

The only support that she has received so far was from the UCD Students’ Union.

Thousands of UCD students protest on the campus calling for systemic change in how UCD responds to sexual violence and gender-based harm. Photo: Sam Boal/Collins Photos

In an open letter, 48 doctors from across the country said they were “disappointed in UCD School of Medicine’s failure to address this case, both in its apparent disregard for the victim and its willingness to ignore the overarching issue of misogyny and gender-based violence.” 

In an open letter to the school, the doctors claimed: “This behaviour constitutes image-based sexual abuse, a crime that disproportionately affects girls and women and the impact of which can be devastating to the victim.

“Whether this is due to a simple lack of empathy for the victim or a permissive, patriarchal attitude toward such crimes, we feel that the University’s response to this event is unacceptable.

“Failing to hold your medical students accountable for their actions and words erodes public trust in the entire medical profession.” 

The letter also highlighted that this incident conveyed a message to medical students.

“Many of them are young people at a crucial point in the forging of their moral codes and ethics, that they may act as they please to the point of violence against another person without repercussions.

“We worry that this crime, the subsequent sharing of a violent image and UCD’s failure to treat the issue with the deserved seriousness are indicative of toxic, misogynistic culture,” the letter added.

Additionally, a list of nine demands was sent out by the Student’s Union which requested that UCD and the School of Medicine issue an “an open-correspondence apology to the victim and the affected student cohort ... regarding its lack of a robust and public condemnation of the infiltration of the class WhatsApp group with IBSA (Image Based Sexual Abuse), as well as its lack of public solidarity with the affected student in the immediate aftermath of the IBSA.” 

Around 4,000 students were in attendance at a “Not in Our UCD” rally organised by the UCD students union, in partnership with the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC), on Wednesday afternoon.

The students’ union said the rally was “not focused on one incident alone, but on what they describe as deeper issues in institutional response from classroom practices to senior decision-making structures".

Chief Executive of DRCC Rachel Morrogh said: “When a student discloses sexual violence, the response must be trauma‑informed, student‑centred and grounded in clear, accessible processes.

“National guidance for Higher Education Institutions makes this explicit by outlining that colleges should prioritise the well-being of the student, provide immediate support and ensure transparent pathways for reporting and accommodation without adding further distress or pressure. 

"These are essential principles of a victim-centred, safe and respectful campus environment – but they must not simply be words on paper, but will stand in practice,” she added.

Ms Morrogh said the protest on Wednesday sent a “message of zero tolerance of sexual violence to all those who have experienced this form of abuse and gives hope that we can chart a different course for the future."

She added: “It underlines that survivors should never have to face sexual violence alone and that students and staff want to carry the burden with her in solidarity for all she has endured. Together, we are all stronger."

The Irish Examiner contacted UCD for comment, but did not receive a reply.

However, the university told RTÉ it had not conducted an internal investigation into the image sharing because An Garda Síochána has the forensic, technical and legal expertise and powers to do so, and said it is supporting the force as the appropriate authority to carry out the investigation.

It also said Maeve "has had the full and proactive support of the Head of the University's Advisory Service for some time and several different pastoral and academic supports in the School of Medicine".

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