The more we talk about it the more we break stigma of sexual violence
THE executive director of the Rape Crisis Network Ireland warns we have set up a society that “facilitates” sexual violence. DR CLIONA SAIDLEAR says we need to do more to break down the stigma and create a safe space for people to report sexual harassment. Her call comes after new figures show half of young adults in Ireland aged 18-24 have experienced some form of sexual harassment. he figures are stark. The Central Statistics Office published data that provides essential insights into patterns of sexual harassment in Ireland.
Why does it matter? The data published this week allows us to understand the dynamics of harassment and how it affects our communities.
What we know from our work at Rape Crisis Network Ireland is that sexual harassment is frequently dismissed or denied. Its impact is minimised.
Victims of harassment find themselves silenced. Perpetrators are empowered. When we allow sexual harassment to happen around us, we tell perpetrators what they can get away with.
We contribute to the stigma that prevents people from speaking out about their experiences. We set up a society in which sexual violence is facilitated.
The more we know about sexual harassment, the more we can name it when it happens. The more we talk about it, the more we break down the stigma around sexual violence and the better we can work together to combat it.
If you’re wondering what the CSO means by sexual harassment, they have defined it to cover a range of behaviours that make a person feel offended, humiliated, or intimidated, from crude or sexually explicit remarks, to online comments, to the sharing of images without permission, to flashing, unwanted physical contact, as well as stalking with fear of sexual violence.
Let’s break down some of the statistics: young adults aged between 18 and 24 experienced the highest rates of sexual harassment.
For example, in the previous 12 months, over three in 10 young people reported inappropriate physical contact, according to the CSO survey.
This is a shocking figure that illustrates the vulnerability experienced by young people.
Overall, 12 per cent of adults experienced remarks of a sexual nature made in person, by text or phone call.
This included crude or sexually explicit remarks the person found offensive, humiliating or intimidating.
Online sexual harassment online has not gone away. The CSO reports that two per cent of people surveyed experienced sexual images or videos of them being shared without their permission. The CSO also surveyed people about the relatively new
Tcrime of stalking which the CSO defines as “stalking with a fear of sexual violence”.
Shockingly, one in 13 young adults report being stalked with a fear of sexual violence in the previous 12 months. Across age groups, the CSO data shows that four times as many women reported experiencing stalking compared to men.
The majority of adults who experienced stalking with a fear of sexual violence reported that the perpetrator
was male. Women reported that the perpetrator was male in almost all cases (98 per cent). Sexual harassment is happening in pubs, clubs and discos: almost one in three adults who experienced sexual harassment report that it occurred in a pub, club or disco. For young adults, this figure is even higher; 52 per cent of those aged between 18 and 24 experienced sexual harassment in the pub, club or disco. Younger people are talking about their experiences of sexual harassment more than older adults. Almost two thirds (64 per cent) of people aged 18-24 disclosed their experience but just 38 per cent of adults over 24 told someone about their experience.
Women are more likely to talk about sexual harassment than men.
Overall, over half of adults (52 per cent) who experienced sexual harassment in the previous 12 months disclosed it to someone.
Women were more likely to disclose their sexual harassment experience (55 per cent) than men (43 per cent).
The data is being released in a series of reports during the course of this year, allowing us to build a picture of how sexual violence impacts young and old, women and men, in the workplace and in domestic and public life. There is some good news in the data: that young people are showing the way by speaking out. In total, 70 per cent of young people disclosed their experience to someone else.
We need to take action to make sure that everyone can feel safe and supported in naming it in this way.
We need to take action to ensure everyone can feel safe