Sexual Violence Survey Steering Group Meeting

Rosling Room, CSO Office, Skehard Road, Mahon, Cork

25th September 2019 

Agenda

1. Introduction – DJE chair

2. Agreement of minutes from last meeting – update on actions

3. Update from CSO on development work to date
     a. Pilot
     b. Resourcing and planning
     c. Budget
     d. Expert Group update
     e. Liaison Group meeting

4. Istanbul convention

5. Next meeting – December

6. AOB

Minutes

Attendees:

• Alice Wainwright, Head of Research and Data Analytics, Department of Justice and Equality
• Philip McCormack, Research Officer, Department of Justice and Equality (Chair)
• Keith McSweeney, Senior Statistician, Central Statistics Office
• Helen McGrath, Statistician, Central Statistics Office

1. Introduction

The Chair welcomed all members of the steering group. Gurchand Singh and Richie McMahon offered their apologies at being unable to attend this meeting.

2. Agreement of minutes from last meeting

The minutes from the last meeting were agreed and actions were updated.

One of the actions from the last meetings was an update on the status of the sexual harrassment in the workingplace scoping group. It remains with the Department of Taoiseach to progress.

3. Update from CSO on development work to date

A progress report was issued to DJE prior to the meeting and CSO gave a brief summary of the document. Discussion was had on each item including:

• Pilot objectives agreed. See point A below.
• Additional personnel appointed and continued work on development of the overall SVS project plan has continued. See point B below.
• Consultants for IT development work specific to the delivery of a web-based version of the survey have been identified and engaged.
• Revised costs for 2020. See point C below.
• Completed the expert group section of the refinement of the Scoping Group data list. See point D below.
• Organised the first Liaison Group meeting on the 18th July 2019. See point E below.
• Invited to discuss SVS development work at DRCC annual conference in November 2019.
• The development of a section on the CSO website for accessible links to all SVS project materials including steering group meeting agenda and minutes.

A.Pilot

These are some of the aspects of the pilot which have been decided upon:

• It is planned for Q3 2020
• The full pilot size will be 600 cases using a CAPI/CASI approach where the interviewer will complete the initial part of the questionnaire and hands the tablet to the respondent to take the sensitive modules.
• IT are working on the provision of a CAWI (web based) approach to be delivered for the sensitive modules. It may or may not be available for the pilot as it requires a lot of development work with incorporating the new technology (Blaise 5.0) into the current framework.
• The field team will consist of seven interviewers and one coordinator operating in a mix of urban and rural areas.
• The focus of the pilot will be to get some quantitative data for the main survey (average length, idicative response rates) but will focus more on the qualitative data - focus on field protocols, evaluate the training and the interviewer case load and supervisor workload.

B. Resourcing and Planning

Additional statistical personnel have been appointed to deliver on the development of the questionnaire. The project team continues to engage with the CSO internal governance board as well as setting up an internal project board. The construction of a robust project baseline for cost and time in conjunction with the CSO Project Management Office continues. The result will be a project baseline with each division committed to the project timelines and the final details will be presented at the next meeting.

C. Budget

As per the budget update in the last Steering Group meeting, the budget costings for 2020 has been revised. It now stands at €682k for 2020. This data was provided to the Department in August and clarifications were issued in September

D. Expert Groups overview

It was noted at the last steering group meeting that the data list from the scoping group report has been analysed by the Questionnaire Design Unit (QDU) and issues have been identified on the definition of the data list points.

Two expert groups were identified - Data Expert Group (DEG) and the Policy Expert Group (PEG). These groups both met twice, in July and August. Recommendations on the definition for the data list points and prioritisation were identified. These recommendations were evaluated as a variable list was constructed.

The result is an outline variable list which the office will present to the Liaison Group meeting on the 26th September.

E. Liaison Group meeting

The first Liaison Group meeting was held on the 18th July. It was attended by the experts from UL and NUIG, representatives from relevant agencies (SATU, TUSLA) and representatives from Women's Aid, One in Four, Dublin Rape Crisis Centre and Rape Crisis Network Ireland. The Terms of Reference for the group were agreed. There were presentations from the project team on the development of the project and the next steps. the methodology unit of the office gave a very informative presentation on their examination of the mode issues related to sensitive topics.

The Agenda from the Liaison Group meeting is currently published on the website and the minutes from the group will be published once they are agreed by the group.

4. Istanbul Convention

A discussion was held on the implications of the Istanbul Convention in relation to data requirements. The SVS will not meet all of the various breakdoens required in the Convention in terms of types of violence and will focus on prevalence as per the agreed aim of the survey. The department noted that not all of the Istanbul Convention data needs will be met by the SVS.

5. Date of next meeting

CSO proposed December as the date for the next official Steering Group meeting in Dublin. They will be in touch about more appropriate dates once the work in December has been detailed. 

6. AOB

Department officials briefed the CSO on the re-organisation which has concluded in the Department. Department officials also shared details of new reports being published in related areas and gave an update on the sexual harrassment/sexual violence campaign.