Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak about the CSO's first survey on sexual violence. At the outset, it is important to welcome that we are starting to collect this data. I say this because we know that sexual violence is a widespread issue, but without the data, it is hard to measure the full scale of the issue and how the prevalence of sexual violence is changing in Ireland. This is why I welcome that this is the first of six future reports. These reports will be game-changing in helping us to address this problem.

I wish I could say I was shocked by the findings of the survey, but, unfortunately, I am not. The findings are very much a confirmation of the stories, reports and experiences of sexual violence that we hear about far too often. The report does provide much important detail on and insight into a serious and sensitive societal issue. It is particularly important that we acknowledge that behind the data are individual stories. Each story speaks to the lived experience of those who have experience of sexual violence. I found the definition of the word "violence" very interesting in this report. This is because, as the report suggests, violence is often associated with the use of force. In this report, however, it is recognised that violence can be also defined as something "having a marked or powerful effect on someone". This is very important.

While physical violence, sexual assault and rape all fall under this report, we are also recognising that sexual violence can be psychological, coercive and less obvious. That is a really welcome inclusion because all experiences of sexual violence leave a lasting impact on victims, whether they are non-contact or involve physical violence.

In terms of the actual findings of the report, four out of ten adults have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime. That is a huge figure. This varies by age and gender. Some 28% of men have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime. That is a cohort we do not often focus on, but clearly it is an issue that impacts men and over a quarter reported experiences of sexual violence. We know men are also far less likely to report sexual violence or talk about it. I commend the men who felt able to speak up about their experiences in this report.

About half of all adults, 47%, who experienced sexual violence in their lifetime told someone about it. Women were more likely to have told someone, at 53% compared to men at 34%. Disclosures were far less likely if the experience was with a partner rather than someone else. It is quite shocking that we have a situation whereby well over half of the population, 52% of adults, who have experienced sexual violence never told a soul about it. That has lot to do with shame. There can be a lot of shame around sexual violence for victims and is important that we say here, on the record on the Dáil, for anyone of any gender, age or sexuality who has been a victim of sexual violence that the shame is not theirs to carry. The more we speak about reports like this, the more we take away some of that shame and the more people can move on with their lives towards healing.

When it comes to the female experience, we see that over half, 52%, of women have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime. The experience of young women is particularly harrowing. Some 65% of women aged between 16 and 24 have experienced sexual violence. Think about that. The majority of young women sitting in any senior cycle classroom or lecture hall around this country have experienced sexual violence.

We often hear about a culture change when it comes to sexual and gender-based violence, and a statistic in this report which highlights the cultural change is the fact that 78% of adults who experienced sexual violence knew the perpetrator. There is very little difference between genders. 79% of women and 75% of men knew the perpetrator. The vast majority of the time, the perpetrators of these heinous crimes are not masked strangers down dark alleyways preying on vulnerable people. The vast majority of the time they are friends, family, partners or former partners - they are trusted people. With such a huge prevalence of sexual violence, this is becoming part of our culture.

I have spoken in the House on a number of occasions on sexual and gender-based violence. It is my strong view that sexual violence find its roots in the acceptance of actions and comments that normalise it, in particular when it comes to violence against women. The comments and actions that objectify and disrespect women and girls every single day have a role to play. We see it everywhere. We see it in our WhatsApp groups, locker rooms, media and politics. Of course, it is not just women. The prevalence of sexual violence in the report goes across both the genders and tells us all we need to know about the widespread culture of sexual violence.

We need action to change that culture. We need action in our homes, classrooms, workplaces and social media groups and among our friends and family. That means calling out the misogyny, micro-aggressions and inflammatory language that normalises sexual violence. We need action on top of action because our law makers and enforcers, those of us in the Chamber, need to work together to achieve the zero tolerance policy in the approach we strive for. When we have that, the cultural impact, coupled with political action, we will see real change.

I was struck by the fact that approximately 500 respondents to the CSO survey indicated they had not disclosed any of their sexual violence experiences to anyone. These respondents felt comfortable enough to share their experiences with the CSO. That shows huge bravery on the part of the respondents and speaks volumes about the approach of the CSO. I would like to commend it and all of those who took part in this important piece of work, which has given us critical information that we all need to work together to build on.

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