Exploring experiences of disclosing and reporting sexual violence and harassment to higher education institutions
The main objectives of this Higher Education Authority funded project are:
- To document and give voice to a range of staff and student experiences of sexual violence and harassment in higher education and to capture the impact on those affected
- To explore survivor experiences of disclosing and reporting sexual violence and harassment to their institution, including but not limited to complaints that were formally investigated, to identify strengths, challenges and lessons.
- To develop evidence-informed recommendations for higher education institutions to enhance support to survivors and improve institutional responses to sexual violence and harassment.
Frequently Asked Questions
I experienced gender-based harassment but I don’t think it was sexual violence, can I take part in the study?
Yes. The study is interested in all forms of sexual or gender-based misconduct, harassment and violence. If you feel that your experience meets this description, we would like to interview you.
I didn’t make a formal report or take part in any investigation, can I take part in the study?
Yes. We are interested in all victim-survivor journeys. We want to understand experiences that resulted in formal investigations, and also the decision to report or not to report.
I didn’t tell anybody about my experience, can I still take part?
Yes. We are interested in all experiences of disclosure, including decisions not to disclose.
My experience was a long time ago, can I still take part?
For this study, we are collecting data about experiences of reporting, disclosing, or not disclosing in the past 4 years. If your experience of sexual violence or harassment was in 2021 or since then; OR if you tried to report or disclose in 2021 or since then, we would like to hear from you.
I didn’t experience sexual violence or harassment, but I helped somebody who did, can I take part?
No. This study is focused on the experiences of victims-survivors. It responds to action 12 of the HEA ESVH Implementation Plan: Undertake a study following the victim’s journey from disclosure to outcome.
Action 13, which will build on this research, involves a study to analyse the views and experiences of those to whom disclosures were made.
I would like to share my experience, but I’m worried that it will damage my career or my personal life.
The purpose of this study is to collect information that is often kept hidden or silent because of such worries. The research team will do everything it can to ensure your confidentiality. This includes:
- Only allowing two people access to your identifying information: the interview researcher and the Principal Investigator. Nobody else will ever be able to see your name, your email address, or the institution that your experience relates to.
- Conducting the interview at a time and in a place of your choosing, so that you can ensure that you have the privacy you need.
- Providing you with a copy of your interview transcript so that you can remove any information that might identify you to others (we will automatically remove names; geographic locations; workplaces and institutions; and anything else that is identifying).
- Enabling you to withdraw from the process if you change your mind, and to withdraw your data up until the time when you have returned the transcript to us. Once we have deidentified your transcript, it won’t be possible for us to find it in the complete dataset.
I am worried that if I tell my story it will be easy to find out who I am because of my unique characteristics or circumstances.
We are aware that some of the people who are most vulnerable to sexual violence and harassment are members of very small minority groups, including members of the Traveller community or racial minorities; transgender and non-binary people; people with disabilities and others. It is vitally important that these experiences are captured. We will record such details (identities, characteristics, circumstances) to improve the evidence base, and we will be very careful not to report in a way that could identify you.
If you wish, the research interviewer can talk to you about your transcript and work with you to identify aspects that you may prefer not to include, or that you do not want us to quote.
How will I find out what happens with my interview data?
We will place the main research outputs on our website www.borg.ie
The study will produce a clear and succinct research report for the Higher Education Authority, including recommendations to improve institutional responses to sexual violence and harassment.
We will also work on generating accessible and creative survivor stories/ outputs based on the research data, to be communicated widely.
Further research outputs are likely to include articles in peer reviewed journals; conference presentations; and potentially short blogs or news stories.
We will be careful with all research outputs to maintain the confidentiality of individuals, while presenting data that clearly and effectively represents the experiences that we hear in the study.
Meet the Research Team:
Professor Patricia Mannix McNamara
Patricia is Professor (Chair) Education (Leadership) at the University of Limerick. Her research spans health education, leadership, bullying, incivility, gender and power and she has published widely on bullying, incivility, power, policy and inaction in education settings.
Professor Margaret Hodgins
Margaret is Professor of Health Promotion at the University of Galway. Her research focuses on the workplace as a setting for the promotion of health and well-being, in
particular aspects of the psychosocial environment such as bullying, harassment and
discrimination.
Dr Carol Ballantine
Carol is a critical, intersectional and feminist social scientist with an interest in creative and trauma-informed research. She has published on violence against women of refugee background, and social polarisations related to genders, sexualities and abortion.
Dr Declan Fahie
Declan is Director of School Placement and College Lecturer at University College Dublin. He has been researching and writing on workplace bullying, homophobic bullying, toxic leadership and accessing vulnerable research populations for almost 15 years.
Professor Pádraig MacNeela
Pádraig is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Psychology, University of Galway. His research follows a cycle of knowledge generation, partnership building, and practical implementation, reflected in work on sexual consent and building resilience and positive mental health among young people.
Dr Caroline Murphy
Caroline is Associate Professor in Employment Relations at the University of Limerick. Her core areas of research are employee representation and fairness at work, bullying, gender equality and care.
Dr Sarah MacCurtain
Sarah is Associate Professor in Organisational Behaviour at the University of Limerick. Her research interests include the impact of negative workplace behaviours on employee stress and well-being, leadership and organisational culture.
Dr Niamh Hickey
Niamh is Assistant Professor in Education with Mentoring at the University of Limerick. Her research interests lie in the organisational leadership, culture, and behaviours which contribute to or inhibit organisational wellbeing.