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Young people’s experiences of sexual and gender-based harassment and abuse During the Covid-19 pandemic in Ireland: Incidence, Intervention and Recommendations.

Ging, Debbie orcid logoORCID: 0000-0002-6664-5560 and Castellini da Silva, Ricardo Canavezzi (2022) Young people’s experiences of sexual and gender-based harassment and abuse During the Covid-19 pandemic in Ireland: Incidence, Intervention and Recommendations. Project Report. DCU Anti-Bullying Centre, Dublin City University.

Abstract
The purpose of this report is to investigate young peoples’ experiences of sexual and gender-based abuse and harassment during the Covid-19 pandemic in Ireland, and to explore the benefits and challenges of delivering two workshops to educate about and tackle sexual and genderbased abuse. The report presents the findings from 185 surveys and 10 focus groups conducted with 60 young people aged 15-17 in 2021. Our findings show that social media use increased significantly during the pandemic. They also indicate an increase in levels of online harassment and abuse, especially for girls and LGBTQ+ students. Feedback from the workshops points to significant gaps in young people’s knowledge about gender-based and sexual harassment and abuse, and in the Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) curriculum’s provision of education on these issues, as well as on digital rights, ethics and consent. The success of the workshops, measured by post-workshop surveys and focus-group feedback, demonstrates that inclusive and interactive educational formats based on young people’s lived experiences can go a long way to address these gaps. It is hoped that this report will help to inform future improvements to RSE and digital safety education in Ireland by providing new data on the extent and nature of sexual and gender-based harassment and abuse, by reporting on which types of classroom interventions worked best, by presenting the perspectives and experiences of young people themselves, and by making concrete recommendations on what students need to navigate these issues.
Metadata
Item Type:Monograph (Project Report)
Refereed:Yes
Subjects:Social Sciences > Bullying
Social Sciences > Speech
Social Sciences > Racism
Social Sciences > Identity
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > Institute of Education
Research Institutes and Centres > DCU Anti-Bullying Centre (ABC)
Publisher:DCU Anti-Bullying Centre, Dublin City University
Official URL:https://www.dcu.ie/antibullyingcentre
Copyright Information:Authors
ID Code:31691
Deposited On:17 Oct 2025 10:01 by Gordon Kennedy . Last Modified 17 Oct 2025 10:01
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