'National conversation' needed as half of survivors of childhood sexual violence haven't told anyone

A “NATIONAL CONVERSATION” is needed as half of survivors of childhood sexual violence haven’t talked to anyone about it, new research shows.

Deirdre Kenny, Chief Executive of One in Four, a charity that helps adults who’ve been victims of child sex abuse, says a sense of shame around the topic in Ireland has been damaging for survivors.

We need to start talking about this in a healthy and responsible way.

In a 2022 survey about sexual violence, 29% of people across all age groups said they’d experienced sexual violence in childhood, in person and online.

The figure rises to 41% among the 18-24 year old age group.

New research by One in Four looked at attitudes towards childhood sexual violence.

Kenny told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that, while there have been a number of high-profile inquiries and reports published in recent years, prevention hasn’t been prioritised.

“We constantly look at this through a rear view mirror, we haven’t really been proactive about preventing it,” she said.

“This is a very difficult subject to talk about, and we know that survivors feel very alone with that, and often families and communities are not willing to really look at the reality of the situation.”

Irish women are twice as likely to experience child sexual violence versus males. However the gap between males and females is less pronounced in the area of non-contact child sexual violence

Some 36% of women experienced child sexual violence, which is broadly in line with female adult sexual violence at a rate of 39%. But 22% of men have experienced child sexual violence, almost double the level of male adult sexual violence at 12%.

The majority (80%) of contact offenders remain known to the victims.

An authority figure was the offender in 12% of cases reported by people over 55 years old. This decreases to 1% in younger (18-24 year old) adults.

With the young adult age group, the majority of people who offend are a friend or a romantic partner, who are likely to be young people themselves.

The majority (70%) of non-contact offenders (online) also remain ‘known’ to the victims.

The majority of adults have not disclosed child sexual violence to anyone, but women are twice as likely to share than men are.

This lack of disclosure is more pronounced within older age groups.

“It’s difficult to talk about, and the shame associated with it … we can’t really come to terms with the prevalence of the issue. And so we need a national conversation,” said Kenny.

One in Four is calling for universal education on childhood sexual violence, as well as more restriction in online spaces to protect children.