Written answers

Tuesday, 8 February 2022

Department of Education and Skills

Further and Higher Education

Photo of Holly CairnsHolly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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78. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on a report concerning sexual violence in Irish colleges and universities (details supplied). [6325/22]

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Tackling sexual violence and harassment in our tertiary education system is and will remain, a key policy focus for me and my Department.

I really want to thank students and staff across the country who took the time to engage with this survey and share their experiences with us. A total of 11,417 responses were analysed (7,901 students and 3,516 staff) and inform the findings.

The survey findings point to some positive developments in the higher education institutions that can be built upon in areas such as awareness raising and education. But there are also some deeply troubling findings, such as the levels of sexual harassment experienced by staff and students that responded to the survey and particularly the female students that reported that they had experienced sexual violence.

My Department will now work with the Centre of Excellence for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the HEA, the higher education sector and the HEA Advisory Group on Ending Sexual Violence and Harassment in Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) to implement the recommendations in these reports.

Data from annual HEI progress updates to the HEA on implementation of the Framework for Consent in HEIsand the findings of the survey reports will provide an evidence base for any funding and priority areas identified in the reports’ recommendations. My intention is to develop an implementation plan to consolidate the advances that have been made in this area since the publication of the Framework for Consent in HEIsin April 2019. The HEA Advisory Group will act as the implementation oversight group, working alongside the HEA's Centre for Excellence for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and my Department.

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