Sexual Violence Survey 2022 – Disclosure of Experiences

Sexual violence experienced as a child and use of services

This chapter looks at the use of services by those who experienced sexual violence as a child. This covers experiences which occurred under the age of consent in Ireland (under 17 years) and is based on replies from those aged 18 and over. In the survey, the type of services that could be used by someone who experienced sexual violence are grouped in general categories, for example, using a medical service, support service, etc. Due to the low number of survey observations, it is not possible to provide detail on the helpfulness of all services so only data relating to the helpfulness of the support service can be provided (in Table 9.2).

Sexual violence as a child is defined as a range of unwanted experiences from non-contact experiences to contact experiences. Unwanted sexual non-contact experiences include being shown pornographic material, being asked to pose in a sexually suggestive manner for photographs, having someone expose themselves or someone masturbating in front of a child. Unwanted sexual contact experiences include sexual touching (where the respondent as a child was touched in a sexual way or made to touch somebody else in a sexual way), unwanted sexual intercourse, unwanted attempted sexual intercourse or another not-specified sexual contact that was attempted. See the Background Notes for further details.

Please note that the statistics quoted in this chapter relate to those who reported experiencing sexual violence as a child and do not relate to the overall population of adults in Ireland.

Overall, over eight in 10 (81%) of those who experienced sexual violence as a child did not use a service, with 8% of those who experienced sexual violence as a child using a support service following their experience. A support service includes any services providing counselling or psychological support. Most adults (83%) who experienced sexual violence as a child, who used a support service, identified that it was helpful. The reasons why adults who experienced sexual violence as a child did not use a service were varied. The most frequently selected reason was that they thought that what happened was not serious enough with 43% of adults indicating this, with men more likely to choose this (48%) than women (40%). Over one in five adults (22%) did not use a service because they felt ashamed or embarrassed, with one in 10 (10%) not using a service because they were afraid their family would find out.

Over eight in 10 adults who experienced sexual violence as a child did not use a service

Key findings for those who experienced sexual violence as a child and whether they used a service:

• Overall, most adults who experienced sexual violence as a child did not use a service (81%), with very little difference between men (82%) and women (80%) in this respect. See Table 9.1. A service includes medical, counselling, social worker services.
• A support service (such as counselling or psychological support) was the most frequently chosen service for use, with one in 12 adults (8%) who experienced sexual violence as a child using it. This compared with 2% of adults who used a medical service and 1% and who used a social worker.
• Women who experienced sexual violence as a child were more likely use a support service (10%) compared with men (5%).
• Those aged 25-34 who experienced sexual violence as a child were more likely to use a support service (10%) than those aged 18-24 (6%).

Over eight in 10 adults who experienced sexual violence as a child and used a support service found it helpful

Key findings for those who experienced sexual violence as a child and used a support service by whether they felt it was helpful:

• Most adults who experienced sexual violence as a child and who used a support service identified that it was helpful (83%). See Table 9.2. A support service includes any services providing counselling or psychological support.
• The majority of women who experienced sexual violence as a child and used a support service identified that it was helpful (85%).
• Due to the low number of survey observations for men who experienced sexual violence as a child and used a support service, data on how helpful the support service was for men cannot be published.

Almost half of men who experienced sexual violence as a child did not use a service because they thought what happened to them was not serious enough

Key findings for those who experienced sexual violence as a child by the reasons why they did not use a service:

• Over four in 10 adults (43%) who experienced sexual violence as a child did not use a service because they thought what happened was not serious enough. Men were more likely to have thought this (48%) than women (40%). Please note that the definition of sexual violence as a child includes non-contact experiences as well as contact experiences. Over a quarter of women (26%) who experienced sexual violence as a child indicated that they did not use a service as they felt ashamed or embarrassed, compared with 15% of men. See Figure 9.1 and Table 9.3.
• Those aged 25-34 who experienced sexual violence as a child were more likely to indicate that they did not know what service to turn to (17%) than those aged 65 and over (10%).
• Those aged 18-24 who experienced sexual violence as a child were more likely to indicate that they did not use a service because they were under the influence of alcohol or drugs when it happened (6%) than those aged 65 and over (1%).
• Those aged 25-34 who experienced sexual violence as a child were five times more likely to indicate that they did not use a service because they blamed themselves for what happened (15%) than those aged 65 and over (3%).
• One in 10 adults (10%) who experienced sexual violence as a child did not use a service because they were afraid that their family would find out, and one in 12 adults (8%) said they did not use a service because they thought they would not be believed.