Harris warns college chiefs on sex pests
HIGHER Education Minister Simon Harris has warned Ireland’s third level dons that he expects them to ‘lead not lag’ when it comes to confronting sexual abuse on campus.
The minister is awaiting final delivery of action plans on the issue, eight months after setting an end of February deadline for our colleges.
He has prioritised the creation of new structures to deal with what he called an ‘epidemic in our country’.
Previous surveys indicate that up to 30% of female college students experience some form of unwanted contact. The issue only gained public traction after Dr Aoibhinn Ní
Shúilleabháin – a broadcaster, lecturer in UCD and role model to young women in maths and science – went public on two years of sexual harassment she experienced in UCD.
Speaking to the Irish Mail on Sunday, Mr Harris said: ‘It is very important third-level education leads and doesn’t lag. We are dealing with very vulnerable age groups here and staff and students need education and protection at a very high level.’
It is believed that most colleges are in the final stages with one source noting: ‘Harris put quite a bomb under the dons.’
The academic mandarins, they added, ‘are experiencing a level of supervision and accountability they are not used to’.