CROWDS PROTESTED AT UCD today to call on the university to do more to support survivors of sexual abuse.

The rally, attended by thousands of students, comes after an image of a medical student was circulated online and via Whatsapp.

The fallout over the incident has been covered by national media outlets and discussed in the Dáil in recent weeks. 

The matter was first raised in the Dáil by Socialist Party TD Ruth Coppinger in mid-February, with the deputy telling the chamber that the student had an image that was taken after she had been raped circulated to staff and students.

Coppinger told the chamber that the image showed the victim “nude, bruised and unconscious” and that it was accompanied by further threats. The student became pregnant as a result of the rape and missed exams to undergo a termination, Coppinger said.

The Dáil was told the student took UCD to court after they had asked her to drop back a year and that she had not been able to continue her degree since 2023. 

Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers called on the university to intervene and assist the student in completing her studies. 

The university has not commented publicly on the matter, although an internal email circulated to staff and students said it was offering support to the student.

Students protesting at UCD over the incident today. UCD Students' Union UCD Students' Union

Labour’s spokesperson on further and higher education, Senator Laura Harmon, today said she found it “deeply concerning” that UCD had been unable to stop the sharing of the image.

The senator – who is also a former president of the Union of Students in Ireland (now known as AMLÉ) – has written to the Oireachtas Committee on Further and Higher Education requesting that UCD attend the committee to outline its actions following the circulation of the image.

“Should they be in a position to attend committee, UCD could outline to the public what processes are in place to deal with incidents like this, sexual violence, consent, and to outline its dignity and respect policies,” Harmon said.

The student in question appeared on RTÉ’s Prime Time last night to discuss her experience. Her identity was anonymised by the programme-makers. 

Recounting being contacted about the image by gardaí last year, she said she had been unaware that it had been taken and told how she had been horrified to hear that the picture had been circulated to UCD staff. 

Gardaí told her that UCD had committed to blocking the image from its email servers, but she said she did not receive assurances directly from the university.

In the months that followed the student received the image in her own student inbox, she said. Late last year it was sent into a WhatsApp group with 300 students, with the affected student being one of the members.

She said UCD had made no attempt to investigate the circulation of the image and that she felt “abandoned” by the university. It has not been determined who is behind the circulation of the image. 

Harmon said the student’s testimony was “harrowing” and more must be done to protect students.

The Journal has contacted UCD on several occasions regarding the matter but has not received a reply.

In her email to students and staff, issued last month, UCD president Orla Feely wrote: 

“The university acknowledges the deep distress and anguish that this shocking and abhorrent activity from an unknown source has caused the student,” the email said, adding that UCD takes a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of bullying, harassment and sexual violence.

Feely said in the email that the student was supported by the head of student advisory services.

The UCD president said the head of the school of medicine, Professor Paddy Mallon, has offered to meet with the student over recent weeks and she has also been invited to meet with Feely and the vice-president for equality, diversity and inclusion, Professor Aoife Ahern.