A WIDE-RANGING STUDY into sexual violence in Ireland has found that people over the age of 65 are more likely to believe that women fabricate reports of rape compared to all other age groups.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has released several sets of statistics arising from its Sexual Violence Survey 2022, with the latest batch of data focusing on public attitudes toward sexual violence.

Respondents were asked whether they agreed, disagreed, or were uncertain about various statements, including whether “women often make up or exaggerate reports of rape”.

Overall, 62% of people disagreed with that idea, though nearly one-third (29%) said they were uncertain.

The rates of people agreeing with their statement were relatively low but there was a noticeable difference between the beliefs of over-65s and all younger age groups.

Only 6% of 18 to 24-year-olds and 45 to 54-year-olds agreed, rising slightly to 7% among 25s to 34s and 55 to 64s. Just 5% of 35 to 44-year-olds agreed.

However, that figure tripled among over 65s to 15%. The cohort had the lowest rate of disagreement with that statement (53% compared to between 59% and 67%) and the remaining 31% were uncertain.

Another question on the survey was whether people agreed with the statement that “if a person who has been raped is not visibly upset by the experience, it probably was not rape”.

The vast majority (87%) disagreed, with almost no difference between men and women. 10% were uncertain and 2% agreed.

On whether “men may be too embarrassed to say they have been raped”, 80% agreed, with only a 2% difference between men and women (80% and 82% respectively).

People who have not experienced sexual violence in their lifetime or sexual harassment in the last 12 months were asked if they believe sexual violence in Ireland is common. 

Overall, 77% thought that sexual violence against women is common, while 39% believed that sexual violence against men is common.

For both of the questions, women were more likely than men to believe sexual violence is common (86% vs 72% and 53% vs 31% respectively).

Dublin Rape Crisis Centre CEO Noeline Blackwell said the findings indicate “considerable progress in our societal understanding of the prevalence of sexual violence”.

“Where once upon a time, it was generally thought that a person who was raped had to behave in a certain way – something which inhibited our work at DRCC – now, almost nine in ten (87%) adults interviewed rejected the idea that a survivor must react and behave in one set way after sexual violence,” Blackwell said.

However, “there is still a sizeable minority across age groups who remain uncertain as regards common misconceptions around sexual violence”.

“While 62% of respondents disagreed with the statement that women exaggerated or fabricated reports of rape, a substantial 29% of people were uncertain, with a marked number of those being in the age group over 65 years,” she said.

“This is consistent with reactions to our work in Dublin Rape Crisis Centre where, despite all the painstaking, difficult and long-drawn out investigation that accompanies investigation of rape and other sexual violence, those we support must often struggle with long-held societal myths and attitudes that those who report rape – mainly women – are not to be trusted.”

Similarly, Rape Crisis Network Ireland Executive Director Dr Clíona Saidléar said the high proportion of people who understand that rape victims may not be visibly upset “points to a significant shift towards an openness to believe survivors and perhaps an understanding that different people react differently to sexual violence”.

In other words, increasingly the Irish public is showing a willingness to not act as judge and jury regarding survivors.

“What we also see in the data released today by the CSO is a generational difference – there is positive news in that younger respondents are less likely to regard allegations of rape as ‘made up’ or ‘exaggerated’,” she said.

“Younger people are less likely to see shame as a barrier to disclosure which again speaks to a cultural openness to believe and support survivors.”