Survey to study sexual violence on third-level campuses

MORE than 265,000 thirdlevel students and staff are being asked to share details of college-related sexual violence or harassment they have suffered, in a groundbreaking survey rolling out today.

The questions will be explicit, to ensure that there is no doubt about what constitutes sexual misconduct, ranging from cyberbullying, sharing inappropriate images and stalking to non-consent and coercive control.

The Higher Education Authority (HEA) project aims to provide the fullest picture yet of the extent of the problem, generally and on individual campuses, and will lay the foundations for a more proactive approach to tackling it.

The anonymised survey will run for three weeks and results are expected to be known in between six and eight weeks.

Higher Education Minister Simon Harris said it would be “the opening of a conversation with students and staff. It is a conversation which may trigger difficulties for many people”.

Questions on sexual harassment include whether, over the past four years, someone related to the college threatened them with retaliation for not being sexually co-operative, such as by mentioning an upcoming review or damaging their reputation.

Another example is whether someone continued to ask for “dates, drinks, dinner, etc, even though you said ‘No’?”

Questions to students on sexual violence cover areas such as whether someone tried to have sex with them without consent by threatening to spread rumours, criticising their attractiveness or getting angry or taking advantage of them when too drunk to stop what was happening.

Questions to staff on sexual violence include whether anyone touched them in a way that made them feel uncomfortable. Staff will also be asked their knowledge of policies, the availability of training and whether they feel safe in reporting allegations.

HEA chief executive Dr Alan Wall said there was no longer a situation where reports of sexual violence and harassment could simply be regarded as a bureaucratic issue or referred to external agencies.

“Staff and students need to be supported and the HEA is committed to ensuring a national higher education culture which is safe, respectful and supportive.”