NUACHT
March 23 2021
7
National campaign launched to guide students and staff on how to support sexual violence victims By Fiona Lee NUI Galway’s Active* Consent, Union of Students Ireland and Galway Rape Crisis Centre have partnered to launch an eight-week social media campaign to empower University students and staff with guidance on how to respond to disclosures of sexual violence and harassment. Over the eight weeks, the online campaign will offer basic ‘do’s and ‘don’ts’ of receiving a disclosure. Key information on support services and how to access them nationally, current research statistics on college students’ experiences of sexual violence and harassment and open access to Active* Consent’s self-guided 45-minute eLearning module on consent, sexual violence and harassment will also be provided. Participants get the opportunity to access online student-tailored disclosure training by Galway Rape Crisis Centre, and ongoing interactive content dividing deeper into all aforementioned information in detail through quizzes, stories and other forms of direct engagement. NUI Galway’s Active* Consent programme supports young people from 16-24 to have positive and confident sexual health and wellbeing. The programme works with groups that are important to young people, from teachers to parents, college staff, and policy makers.
The information provided is based on a 2020 national Sexual Experiences Survey of 6,000 University students in Ireland and was carried out by Active* Consent and the Union of Students in Ireland. The study found that among University students who had experienced sexual misconduct, 35% of female students, 49% of male students, and 25% of non-binary students had not disclosed this to another person. In the case of sexual harassment, only 7% of men, 17% of women, and 24% of non-binary students had asked someone for advice and/or support. Some of the common reasons for not speaking out highlighted concerns about how a disclosure would be received – the victims worried they would not be believed, the incident would be viewed as their fault, or the feeling of shame or embarrassment. The study also found that 79% of college students who disclose sexual misconduct told a close friend, which shows the need for peers to feel prepared and able to respond. Far fewer students had opened up to staff members in college, which demonstrates the importance of raising awareness that this is an option for students. The campaign was launched online on the 1st of March by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD.
Minister Harris stated, “I would like to pay tribute to NUI Galway’s Active* Consent, USI and the Galway Rape Crisis Centre for developing the “Start Here” campaign. My Department is determined to tackle sexual harassment and sexual violence in our Higher Education Institutions and this eightweek social media campaign will help empower students and staff with information and advice on how to respond practically and compassionately to disclosures of sexual violence and harassment.” Union of Students in Ireland President, Lorna Fitzpatrick said: “The results from the Sexual Experiences Survey emphasised the crucial role friends and other peers play when it comes to supporting survivors of sexual violence and assault. The main objective of this campaign is to provide students with practical knowledge and understanding of how to support someone who discloses to them. This campaign has the potential to make a significant impact on creating a supporting environment for survivors of sexual violence, assault and harassment.” As part of this launch, Active* Consent also announced the full details of their staff training programme, which is now accessible, including a 15-minute animation to introduce all college staff to basic information about consent, sexual violence and harassment and a First Point of Contact training programme created in partnership with Galway Rape Crisis Centre.
Cathy Connolly, Executive Director of Galway Rape Crisis Centre said: “Galway Rape Crisis Centre has been supporting survivors of sexual violence for almost 40 years. One of the key things we have learned is that the response a survivor receives when disclosing their experiences can have an impactful and long-lasting effect. “The campaign aims to give students and young people access to information on how to best support their friends and themselves when a disclosure of sexual violence or harassment happens, and offers the opportunity to build further skills in this area. Part of GRCC’s mission is to work towards ending cultural and societal tolerance of sexual violence and this campaign is a positive step in this direction.” To track the campaign on social media, follow Active* Consent on Facebook (Active Consent at NUI Galway), Instagram (@activeconsent), Twitter (@activeconsent), and use the hashtags #StartHere and #IBelieveSurvivors. To get involved and learn more about the “Start Here” campaign, visit www.nuigalway.ie/activeconsent/ start-here/, and to explore the Sexual Experience Survey mentioned, visit http://www.nuigalway.ie/student-life/ student-support/active-consent/our-research/.
All-Ireland MS Research Network Research project based in NUI Galway shows behavioural differences of launched by researchers in NUI Galway, children in 1998 and 2018 Queen’s University Belfast, and RCSI By Saoirse Higgins University of Medicine and Health Sciences By Tara Hoskin An All-Ireland MS Research Network has been launched by researchers in NUI Galway, Queen’s University Belfast, and RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. The founding members of the network are now putting out a call for researchers at undergraduate or early postgraduate level to apply for their All-Ireland MS Research Network Research Summer Scholarships. The network, which is the first of its kind for MS (Multiple Sclerosis) in Ireland, hopes that this opportunity will lead to improving the lives of those currently living with MS and for future generations. Scientists, clinicians, healthcare professionals, and people with MS will work together across the island of Ireland to create further research into MS. By using collaborative methods this research will be able to bring first-hand accounts of people living with MS to the forefront of their research. Approximately 13,500 people in Ireland are living with Multiple Sclerosis, with 4,500 of them being in Northern Ireland and 9,000 in the Republic. MS is one of the most common causes of neurological disability among young people, and it is becoming more prevalent globally. The chronic condition affects the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord, and optic nerve). It can result in a range of symptoms that affect individuals differently, these include impairment of mobility and vision as well as cognitive difficulties and severe fatigue. The Research Network has set out four main goals that will drive their research. They hope to deliver cutting-edge research in multiple sclerosis that focuses on limiting disease progression. There is a focus on training the next generation of lead-
ers in multiple sclerosis research. Along with this, they will communicate their research activities and discoveries around MS to the public, the research community, and key stakeholders. The network will also collaborate on MS research programmes nationally and internationally to achieve its mission. Dr Una Fitzgerald of Biomedical Engineering department in the College of Science and Engineering at NUI Galway is one of the founding members of the All-Ireland MS Research Network. She believes the network could lead the way in new discoveries. “We firmly believe that closer collaborations and sharing of ideas and expertise across the network will lead to exciting discoveries that better explain multiple sclerosis pathology and symptoms, and that could be the basis of new approaches to MS disease management. The network will facilitate excellence in new multiple sclerosis research discoveries that might otherwise not happen.” The cooperative ethos of the Research Network is welcomed by Alexis Donnelly who has been living with progressive MS for nearly 30 years. “This network will facilitate multiple sclerosis researchers throughout the island to cooperate across institutional and disciplinary boundaries, linking them not only with each other but with international colleagues and allowing fresh results and insights to flow back and forth.” The MS Research Summer Scholarships follows a generous donation from Eamon Haughton and Declan Smith, of Chemical Systems Control Ireland. The first scholarship will be awarded in 2021 to a candidate who is hoping to pursue an MS-focused research career. For more details about the scholarship see www. aims-rn.org/funding and to find out more about The All-Ireland MS Research Network you can follow them on Twitter @aims_rn.
A research project based in NUI Galway has found that school-aged children in 2018 are less likely to partake in substance abuse but more likely to be feeling low. The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Trends Report (HBSC) is a research project launched by the Minister of State Frank Feighan with responsibility for Public Health, Wellbeing and National Drugs Strategy in association with the World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe. The report was led by senior researcher Aoife Gavin in collaboration with the research team here in NUI Galway at the Health Promotion Centre. It took place from the years 1998 to 2018. The research found that there has been an overall decrease in substance use in Ireland in children aged 10 to 17 since 1998. In 2018, only 5.3% of Irish school-aged children said they were smoking compared to the 22.6% of children in 1998. When it comes to alcohol consumption, 19% of children reported ever being drunk in 2018 compared to 33% in 1998. This trend is similar when it comes to cannabis intake with a 5% decrease since 1998. However, there has been a significant increase in the percentage of children who report feeling pressured by schoolwork and feeling low in general. In 2018, 44.3% of children report feeling pressured by schoolwork. A sharp increase from the 32.9% in 1998. Similarly, 34.3% of Irish children in 2018 reported feeling low about every week or more frequently in contrast with the 23% of children who said they felt that way in 1998.
“This new Trends report gives us a wonderful opportunity to take stock, both of the many very significant improvements to our children’s health, and of those areas where we have not, perhaps, made as much progress as we would have liked,” said Minister of State Frank Feighan, “the information contained in this study will be of great importance in terms of future planning and policy direction regarding children’s health.” The Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman says the report shows that Ireland has made steps in the right direction when it comes to the health of young people, but needs to make better choices for their mental wellbeing, “The research also suggests that an increased emphasis is needed around supporting the positive mental health of young people, and following the impact of Covid-19, this is an issue that may become more prevalent.” To aid in the betterment of children’s wellbeing, Minster O’Gorman and his department launched the Supporting Children Campaign which “aims to outline the supports available for children and families during the pandemic.” Minister O’Gorman has also increased funding for youth services in 2021 as he believes they deserve recognition for “the positive impact they have on young people’s lives.” HBSC also uncovered in their findings that children in recent times have more positive health behaviours with an increase in acts like brushing their teeth more than once a day and always wearing their seatbelt in car journeys. “Thanks to the HBSC research team in NUI Galway and the contributions from young people, we now have a valuable piece of research that will help to inform future healthy living initiatives aimed at improving the lives of children and young people in Ireland” concluded Minister O’Gorman.
