From Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
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Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris has today launched a new guide for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to end sexual violence and harassment.
'Towards a Zero Tolerance Approach: A Good Practice Guide' offers practical advice on how to implement the various recommendations of the 2019 framework; 'Safe, Respectful, Supportive and Positive – Ending Sexual Violence and Harassment in Irish Higher Education Institutions'.
Speaking today at the launch, Minister Harris said:
“Addressing misogyny and sexism among young people is key to addressing the challenges we face as a society.
“There is a particular responsibility on those charged with educating the next generation in ensuring that their students and learners are equipped to lead change more widely across society.
“At its core, this guide is another tool for in tackling sexual harassment and violence and developing that zero-tolerance culture.”
The launch event is a unique opportunity to support and encourage Higher Education Institutions to continue the practical implementation of the Framework.
The Good Practice Guide was developed in partnership between the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and the National Women’s Council. It provides the practical steps that HEIs should take in order to prevent sexual violence and harassment in their institutions under four thematic pillars: Institutional Culture, Institutional Processes, Institutional Policies, and Targeted Initiatives.
Minister Harris added:
“Today, we have the funding secured to recruit 17 new positions across third level to lead on our objectives. In 2020, consent classes were taken up by 7,306 students. So far this year, 22,569 classes were taken up by students.
“This has been a joint effort. Today is another important step too. This Good Practice Guide – developed by my department and the National Women’s Council – offers our Higher Education Institutions a very simple guide to implementing our National Framework."
Orla O’Connor, Director of the National Women’s Council (NWC) said:
“NWC was delighted to partner with the Department of Further and Higher Education on this publication.
"The guide brings together the expertise from Higher Education Institutions, sexual violence services, the Higher Education Authority, An Garda Síochána, women’s and student organisations and specialist bodies. The result is a hands-on tool that centres victim survivors. It will support Higher Education Institutions to continue their leadership role and develop the much needed zero tolerance culture in Higher Education.”
In 2022, the government launched the Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (DSGBV), committing to a whole of government approach to address DSGBV, including actions to progress the work in Higher and Further Education Institutes.
The National Women’s Council (NWC) is the leading national representative organisation for women and women’s groups in Ireland, founded in 1973. The NWC have over 190 member groups and a large and growing community of individual supporters.
NWC is funded by grants from Government, the largest coming from the Department of Children, Disability, Equality and Integration, as well as a range of state agencies, including HSE and Pobal. Newly developed fundraising and membership strategies aim to grow our funding base as well as our membership, so that we will expand as a movement-building organisation and have increased resources available to achieve their ambitions.
This project was established in 2016 and aimed to ‘prevent and combat SVH and build a culture of zero tolerance in universities and third-level Institutions throughout Europe through developing a feminist understanding and analysis of the causes and effects of SVH against women students’ (from aims of ESTHE Project). This project, and its successful campaigns, laid the groundwork for the movements we have seen toward ending SVH in Higher Education in Ireland in the last five years.
The HEA ESVH Advisory Group played a crucial role in the development and analysis of comprehensive national surveys that explored experiences of staff and student experiences of sexual violence and harassment in Higher Education in 2021. The rich findings of the surveys have informed policy and funding decisions, including the development of the ‘Ending Sexual Violence and Harassment in Higher Education Institutions Implementation Plan, 2022-2024’ that is currently being implemented.
In August 2020, the Minister wrote to HEI Presidents indicating his intention that national surveys of student and staff experiences of sexual harassment and violence would be developed and implemented, to create a robust evidence base for further policy on these issues.
The surveys were conducted in April-May 2021, with the survey link being sent to some 245,000 students and some 30,000 staff members in higher education. A total of 11,417 responses were analysed (7,901 students and 3,516 staff) and inform the findings. The response rate to the staff survey was c.a. 11.7% and to the student survey c.a. 3.2%. The Minister launched the two survey reports on 27 January last.
On 13 October 2022, Minister Harris launched a new implementation plan to address issues regarding sexual violence and harassment in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).
The new Implementation Plan which covers the 2022 to 2024 period, builds upon and complements the wide range of initiatives currently in place to support a zero-tolerance approach to issues of sexual violence and harassment in our HEIs.
In launching the new implementation plan, details of an additional €1.5 million of supports secured in Budget 2023 were also announced to support the appointment of Sexual Violence and Harassment (SVH) Prevention and Response Managers in our HEIs. The 19 actions in the implementation plan will be delivered between 2022 and 2024.
The delivery of the actions in the new implementation plan are intended to build on and complement the broad range of initiatives ongoing across the sector towards the outcomes set out in the national policy framework published in 2019; ‘Safe, Respectful, Supportive and Positive: Ending Sexual Violence and Harassment in Irish Higher Education Institutions’, (often referred to as the ‘Framework for Consent’), and accompanying institutional action plans.
On 19 April 2023, Minister Harris welcomed the publication of a new CSO survey providing national prevalence figures on sexual violence in Ireland.
The Sexual Violence Survey 2022, commissioned and funded by the Department of Justice, focused on respondents’ experiences of a broad spectrum of sexual violence and harassment experienced in their lifetime.
The objective of the survey is to provide high quality national prevalence data on sexual violence which will act as a new baseline for the levels of sexual violence in Ireland. The survey is due to be conducted again in 10 years’ time. The survey covers a range of sexually violent behaviour, from non-contact experiences to non-consensual sexual intercourse.
Among the headline findings are:
The main results of the Sexual Violence Survey 2022 are available on the CSO website.