Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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39. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the response that has been put in place to deal with the issue of sexual harassment and gender-based violence on third-level campuses in view of a recent survey carried out by the Active Consent Programme in NUI Galway in collaboration with a union (details supplied) highlighting the issue. [22645/20]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I am deeply concerned by the findings emerging from the Sexual Experiences Survey 2020(SES) published in June 2020 by the NUI Galway Active Consent Programme in partnership with the union in question.

In early August 2020 I wrote to each President of the publically funded higher education institutions requesting that a number of actions be undertaken; including that each institution develops and publishes, by February 2021, a specific institutional action plan on tackling sexual violence and harassment; that consent classes be mandatory for incoming students, and that institutions are to provide a report to the Higher Education Authority on their progress on the implementation the Framework for Consent. These progress reports will be an annual feature of the institutional report to the HEA.

I have also written to the research funding agencies under my Department, to develop and implement common policies on sexual harassment and bullying. In addition, I will be requesting a survey to be undertaken on harassment, sexual harassment and bullying of both staff and students in the higher education institutions, the planning of which will commence in the Autumn. I am also broadening the remit of the HEA’s National Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality, which will now include an oversight of the Consent Framework’s implementation.

I want to see our higher education institutions embed the Consent Framework recommendations into their policies and procedures, so as to ensure their long-lasting impact, which will see Ireland take a leading role in confronting sexual violence and harassment.