Thousands of school aged girls across Northern Ireland have been subjected to sexual violence including 'upskirting' or 'being coerced into sexual acts', according to a new survey.
A survey of 16-year-olds, published by the Executive Office at Stormont on Thursday, found that 17% of girls had experienced some form of sexual violence. For boys, the figure was 3%.
Examples given of sexual violence included upskirting (taking a photograph from underneath someone's clothing without their consent), being coerced into sexual acts, and unwanted touching.
Read more: NI Executive unveils £3m strategy to combat violence against women and girls
The report, titled ‘Ending Violence Against Women and Girls: Experiences and attitudes of 16 year olds in Northern Ireland in 2024’, follows a survey of more than 2,000 16-year-olds carried out by Access Research Knowledge (ARK) - researchers at Queen's and Ulster University.
The report states that a sample of 16-year-olds was selected at random from the Child Benefit Register, with a postal invitation sent to thousands of both boys and girls. An online survey was carried out, with a £10 gift voucher offered to those who completed it. A total of 2,210 completed survey responses were received.
It found that, in the last year, almost a fifth of 16-year olds had experienced online violence (19%). Examples given included 'receiving threats online or via social media, online trolling, or being sent or being asked for intimate images against your will'. More than a quarter of girls (26%) said they had experienced this, and just under a tenth of boys (9%).
Girls were also more likely to experience 'psychological violence', with examples including 'being insulted, stalked, harassed, controlled against your will, or threatened with violence'. For female respondents, 23% said they had experienced this form of violence, compared with 9% for males.
Boys were more likely to experience physical violence, with examples including 'being beaten, slapped, pushed or restrained' with 8% of males experiencing this in the past year compared to 5% of females.
The teenagers in the survey were also asked about how difficult they might find it to get help if they were a victim of "gender-based violence", with 31% of girls saying it would be be difficult and 24% of boys.
Over half of respondents (51%) thought that, compared with two years ago, it was more likely that women and girls in Northern Ireland will become victims of gender-based violence online.
The most common place where female respondents felt unsafe was using public transport on their own, with almost half (49%) feeling this way.
The report's authors said: "Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a worldwide problem and a violation of fundamental human rights. The victims often suffer the consequences for years, experiencing psychological distress and/or physical health problems. The Istanbul Convention has four pillars for tackling VAWG: prevention; protection of victims and witnesses; prosecution of perpetrators; and integrated policies.
"On 16th September 2024 the Northern Ireland Executive launched a Strategic Framework to End Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG). This framework intends to bring together a whole of society and whole of government response to address this issue which impacts women and girls across our society. It seeks to address the whole range of gender-based violence, abuse and harm which is disproportionately experienced by women and girls."
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