Survey finds 73% of those who experienced child abuse reported another child as the perpetrator

Kenneth Fox

Of those aged 18-24 who experienced contact sexual violence as a child, 73 per cent reported that a child was the perpetrator.

That is according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), which found the equivalent figure for those aged 65 and over was 17 per cent.

A quarter (25 per cent) of women experienced non-contact sexual violence as a child, compared with 16 per cent of men.

One in ten (10 per cent) men reported that they were made to look at unwanted pornographic material when they were a child.

Bisexual people reported over double the level (49 per cent) of non-contact sexual violence as a child compared with those who are heterosexual (20 per cent).

Those with a third level education reported experiencing unwanted sexual touching as a child at almost double the rate (20 per cent) than those with a primary level of education only (11 per cent).

Women were three times more likely to experience unwanted sexual intercourse as a child (7 per cent) compared with men (2 per cent).

Of adults who experienced contact sexual violence as a child, 32 per cent experienced it in a public place/outdoors.

Overall, the vast majority of perpetrators of child sexual violence were male.

Socio-demographic breakdown

Over nine in ten adults (91 per cent) who experienced non-contact sexual violence as a child and almost nine in ten adults (88 per cent) who experienced contact sexual violence as a child reported that the perpetrator was male.

Commenting on the results, Helen McGrath, statistician in the Social Analysis Section, said: “The publication builds on the recent publication of the Sexual Violence Survey 2022.

"In that report, we highlighted the prevalence of sexual violence in Ireland and found that four in ten adults reported experiencing sexual violence over their lifetime while 29 per cent of adults experienced sexual violence as a child.

"This report provides greater detail on child sexual violence experiences and provides additional information on the socio demographic breakdowns of the overall prevalence levels.

"The child sexual violence experiences cover those which occurred under the age of consent in Ireland (under 17 years).

"These experiences are not described as “non-consensual” as these individuals were under the age of consent at the time, hence the use of the term “unwanted”. T

"The word ‘violence’ is sometimes associated with the use of force. However, as outlined in the Luxembourg Guidelines, which is a set of guidelines to harmonise terms on childhood sexual violence and abuse, ‘violence’ can also mean an event that had a marked or powerful effect on someone."

She said the experiences detailed in this publication range across a variety of experiences up to and including those which result in the most serious violations of personal dignity.