Sexual Violence Survey Steering Group Meeting

Videoconference between Central Statistics Office and Department of Justice 

13th January 2021 2:00pm

Agenda

1. Introduction – CSO chair

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

3. Update from CSO on development work to date

4. Finance

    a. 2020 update on spend
    b. 2021 request

5. Next meeting - March 2021

6. AOB

Minutes

1. Introduction

The Chair welcomed all members of the steering group.

2. Agreement of minutes from the last meeting

The minutes from the last meeting were agreed and updates were given on each action.

3. Update from CSO on development work to date

A progress report was issued to the Department prior to the meeting and CSO gave a brief summary of the document. Since the previous steering group meeting, the office has:

• Developed a plan for the 2021 approach as outlined at the last meeting. See point A.
• IT development work has continued with the incorporation of the software into the survey delivery infrastructure as well as exploring some technical solutions to delivering the web-based survey design.
• The CSO Social Statistics Ethics Advisory Group met on the 11th See point B.
• The fourth Liaison Group meeting was held on the 30th September 2020. See point C.
• An update on the SVS project was shared at the SATU Annual Study Day in October 2020.

 A. Plan for pilot

An overview of the plan to the pilot is provided in an Appendix. The pilot is due to begin on the 19th April 2021.

The size of the pilot has been increased from 1,600 cases (600 CAPI (recruit) àCAWI and 1,000 CAWI only) to 4,000 cases (2,000 each). It is estimated that 350 returns will be completed with on average of 63 of those having to go through the detailed sections. This will facilitate a more comprehensive comparison between the two approaches. In terms of questionnaire development, the questionnaire has been updated for CAWI delivery. An internal review of the CAWI questionnaire was completed using experts in survey design and methodology. Before Christmas, it has been delivered to the IT section responsible for developing an electronic version of the questionnaire.

B. CSO Social Statistics Ethics Advisory Group

The first meeting of the CSO Social Statistics Ethics Advisory Group was held on the 11th December.  Members of the group include:

• Gerry O’Hanlon (Chair), former Director General, CSO
• Marguerite Barry, Assistant Professor, UCD
• Claire Finn, Principal Officer, Dept of Transport, Tourism & Sport
• James Williams, former Research Professor, ESRI

Professor Hannah McGee, RSCI, gave a presentation on the ethical points she felt were important for the SVS from her experience. The points she raised included:

• the importance of the first engagement with a respondent/household
• how to follow up with a respondent after the survey closes
• the possibility that a respondent can share more than expected and how to manage that
• the risk that adverse publicity could bring
• the impact this topic can have on staff wellbeing

The meeting also included a general introduction to the CSO, an introduction to the SVS and an outline of how the SVS has approached the ethical responsibilities of the project. Overall the discussion was positive and the CSO were noted as putting a lot of work in this to date. Several questions on methodology and how disclosure is managed were raised and the CSO will provide a formal submission containing comprehensive documentation on the areas addressed to the group for the next meeting. The next meeting will be held in early February. It was noted that this group has an advisory function. Any decisions relating to the conduct of the survey are for the CSO  to make.

C. Liaison Group meeting

The fourth Liaison Group meeting was held on the 30th September 2020. The meeting focused on the impact of COVID on the CSO field operations and the new plan for the pilot was outlined. It was a constructive meeting with points raised on expected response rates, lack of online access and digital literacy, likely modes for surveys in the future. It was explained that the rationale for the pilot is to get feedback on ranges of difficulties. Stakeholders are clear on the CSO’s commitment to progressing this important project forward.

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

4. Finance

An overview report on preliminary 2020 spend was issued in advance as well as an overview of expected 2021 spend. The CSO Finance Unit will confirm the final spend in 2021 shortly. The CSO will follow the previous procedure of issuing an invoice to DJE for the 2021 payment.

5. Next meeting

A date in late March was proposed as the date for the next official Steering Group meeting. A virtual meeting will be booked and can be revised closer to the date if restrictions are lifted in the interim.

6. AOB

The DJE noted that in response to the Tom O Malley report, there will be a piece of research looking at the survivor experience of going through the court system in 2021. It will include qualitative and quantitative work, with the quantitative work focusing on the movement of cases through the legal system