Women more likely than men to believe sexual violence is common, CSO finds

Women are significantly more likely to think sexual violence against women is common, according to a Central Statistics Office (CSO) report.

The survey of more than 4,500 people. which examined attitudes to sexual violence, was conducted last year by the CSO.

It found that 86 per cent of women thought sexual violence against women was common compared to 72 per cent of men.

Women were also more likely (53 per cent) than men (31 per cent) to think sexual violence against men was common.

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Younger people were more likely to think sexual violence against men and women was common than other age groups.

More than eight in ten young adults (aged 18-24) thought sexual violence against women was common, compared with seven in ten of those aged 35-44.

Similarly, just under half of those aged 18-24 thought sexual violence against men was common, compared with just over a third of those aged 35-44.

As part of the survey respondents were also asked to give their level of agreement with a series of statements on sexual violence.

Overall, a large majority of adults (87 per cent) disagreed with the statement: “If a person who has been raped is not visibly upset by the experience, it probably was not rape”. This compared with just 2 per cent of adults who agreed.

Almost a third of men (31 per cent) were uncertain with the statement “women often make up or exaggerate reports of rape” compared with a quarter of women (25 per cent).

A majority of both men (80 per cent) and women (82 per cent) agreed with the statement “men may be too embarrassed to say they have been raped”.

Those aged 65 and over were most likely to be uncertain with the statement (23 per cent), above, over twice the levels for those aged 18-24 (11 per cent).

Helen McGrath, a statistician in the CSO, said the report was the sixth and final of a series of releases examining the prevalence of sexual violence in Ireland.

The report was based solely on replies from survey respondents who did not experience sexual violence in their lifetime or sexual harassment (in the last 12 months). She said this approach was chosen in line with ethical principles which aimed to reduce harm to respondents.

Responding to the findings, Dr Clíona Saidléar, executive director of Rape Crisis Network Ireland said the findings pointed to a “significant shift” towards a greater openness to believe survivors and an understanding that different people react differently to sexual violence.

“Increasingly the Irish public is showing a willingness to not act as judge and jury regarding survivors,” she said. “What we also see in the data released today by the CSO is a generational difference – there is positive news in that younger respondents are less likely to regard allegations of rape as ‘made up’ or ‘exaggerated’. Younger people are less likely to see shame as a barrier to disclosure which again speaks to a cultural openness to believe and support survivors.”

Sexual violence was defined in the survey as a “range of non-consensual experiences, from non-contact experiences to non-consensual sexual intercourse”, while sexual harassment was defined as “unwanted behaviours that a person may have experienced in the last 12 months, which made the person feel offended, humiliated, or intimidated”.