In a radically new approach the Central Statistics Office is to instigate a detailed national survey on the prevalence of sexual violence in Ireland with funding of €150,000 to finance technical research.

Specialist training will be required to carry out the data-crunching exercise, which is to be repeated each decade, beginning in 2019.

Justice minister Charlie Flanagan says the survey outcomes will inform government policy.

The survey will look in detail at the experience of women and men in Ireland of sexual violence and will examine how these experiences are changing over time.

Interim period

It has been agreed in principle that a range of supplementary data collection exercises will be undertaken in the interim periods between major surveys to determine the experience of sexual violence of certain vulnerable and minority groups. 

Minister Flanagan said “My priority in relation to this survey is not to tick a box – my priority is to ensure that the State undertakes an ongoing programme of research of the highest quality in a sensitive and ethical way to ensure a robust set of data to inform Government policy. 

“This survey is unique and very sensitive – it will involve the lives and experiences of real people who may be revealing deeply traumatic experiences.  Resources and time are needed to ensure this survey is done right and.  

“I am providing for both.”

Ad hoc approach

The minister said he is moving away from the ad hoc approach to data collection and will follow the template of the ground-breaking SAVI study in 2002.

“We know from the 2002 survey and from consultations with NGOs that sexual crime is under-reported in Ireland. 

"A survey of this nature will present a truer picture of the reality on the ground and ensure that Government policy is properly informed,” he said, thanking the CSO for undertaking this “large-scale complex and sensitive work”. 

Robust

The minister said that for the data to be robust, very explicit and intimate questions regarding behaviours associated with sexual violence will have to be asked of respondents. 

As a result, the design and implementation of this survey will require specialist expertise and training. 

“There is the care due to individuals who will be answering sensitive questions, the care due to the individuals who will be conducting the survey and other ethical and data protection risks that need to be managed,” he said.

Scoping group

The decision was informed by the report of a scoping group led by Dorothy Watson, research professor at the ESRI and Trinity College Dublin.

This report http://justice.ie/en/JELR/Report-of-the-Sexual-Violence-Survey-Scoping-Group.pdf/Files/Report-of-the-Sexual-Violence-Survey-Scoping-Group.pdf is now online and has a list of a set of data points for the survey. 

Following completion of the scoping group’s work, the Department of Justice and Equality sought legal advice on a range of technical issues to ensure a survey could be conducted in a way that is compatible with the current legal framework.  

Anonymised data  

At the end of the survey CSO will store anonymised data and will make this available to bona fide researchers on the topic of sexual violence.

This will be done subject to the Statistics Act, 1993 and the strict controls outlined in the CSO policies on data access.