Experience of sexual harassment and sexual violence by disabled students in Irish Higher Education Institutions

This report examines if students with disabilities were more likely to have experienced sexual harassment, sexual violence and particular sexual violence tactics compared to students without disabilities based on the hypothesis that people with disabilities are more at risk of harassment and violence. This report is secondary analysis of data collected by the Higher Education Authority examining the experiences of staff and students from Higher Education Institutions (HEI).

The analysis finds that from the entire sample of respondents to this survey, 10% (n=780) of these students had a disability and had experienced sexual violence and 15% (n=1,185) had a disability and had experienced sexual harassment.

Although this sample is not representative of the general population this report adds to national evidence on the experiences of sexual violence and sexual harassment amongst people with disabilities. It is important to note that some of the material covered within this report may make it distressing to read