At the request of the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris, T.D., the HEA is conducting a national survey to monitor the experiences of employees and students in relation to sexual violence and harassment with a view to informing national equality, diversity and inclusion planning processes.
Every employee and student in Irish higher education has a right to work and study free from sexual harassment and discrimination. The HEA is committed to ensuring that all employees and students in Irish HEIs have the opportunity to work and study in a positive and productive environment.
The survey is aimed at all employees and students working and studying in HEIs in the Republic of Ireland, regardless of their personal experience of sexual violence and/or harassment.
UCD is committed to the creation of an environment free from sexual misconduct including sexual violence and sexual misconduct and where any behaviour of this kind is not tolerated. The University is therefore very supportive of this survey and strongly encourages all employees and students to participate in order to get a greater understanding of the prevalence of sexual violence and harassment in the higher education sector, including UCD. In February 2021, UCD submitted the Consent Framework Action Plan to the HEA and this Action Plan will be supplemented following the approval of the new draft Dignity and Respect policies addressing Bullying and Harassment and Sexual Misconduct. The outputs of this HEA survey will contribute to the ongoing dignity and respect review in UCD and the implementation of a comprehensive support framework. UCD has led on the implementation and launch of the anonymous reporting tool, (opens in a new window)Report and Support, to gain a better understanding of the character, scale and location of breaches of Dignity and Respect policies and to channel those affected towards the supports available.
This survey will run from 12th April to 30th April 2021. Results will be published at a national level and institutional level data can be shared with HEIs which will help inform our planning processes.
If you have any queries in relation to the HEA survey, please contact (opens in a new window)edi@ucd.ie
Supports Available:
If you have been affected by sexual harassment and/or sexual violence and need some support, please see below some of the supports that are available to you internally to UCD:
- Dignity and Respect Contact Persons (Employees & Students)
- Employee Assistance Service (EAS) (Employees)
- Student Advisers (Students)
- Student Counselling Services (Students)