During April and May 2026, the Higher Education Authority (HEA) is conducting national surveys on staff and student experiences in relation to sexual violence and harassment with a view to informing national policy and practice.

Why have I received a link to participate in this survey from my higher education institution?

To ensure that the HEA survey reaches staff and students, higher education institutions that report to the HEA on their implementation of the Ending Sexual Violence and Harassment Framework are disseminating the survey links directly within their institution via email. There are two surveys: one for staff to complete and one for students to complete.

The survey data is collected by the HEA and the individual responses are not visible to higher education institutions.

Who should take part?

All staff and all undergraduate and postgraduate students working and studying in higher education institutions, regardless of personal experience of sexual violence and/or harassment.

Participation in the survey is voluntary. The survey is anonymous and no personally identifying information is requested.

Why should you take part?

These surveys were first conducted in 2021, and the findings informed several targeted initiatives and policy developments. Your participation in this survey will enable us to ensure our work remains responsive and effective. The HEA is extremely grateful to all survey respondents for their valuable contributions.

You can read more about the surveys conducted in 2021at this link, which includes access to the survey reports and information on how the findings were used to inform the Ending Sexual Violence and Harassment in Higher Education Institutions Implementation Plan.

How long does survey take to complete and do I need to complete it in one sitting?

The survey takes approximately 20-40 minutes to complete. As the survey is anonymous and no IP addresses are collected, you should complete the survey in one sitting. You must click ‘submit’ on the final page for your response to be submitted.

Do I need to answer all the questions in the survey?

Participation in the survey is voluntary. There are no mandatory questions. All questions are optional.

When should I complete the survey?

The surveys close for responses on Friday 8 May.

Why is a content warning included in the surveys?

The surveys ask about personal experiences with sexual harassment and violence. Some of the language used in the survey is explicit and some people may find it uncomfortable, but it is important that we ask the questions in this way so that it is clear what we mean.

How are sexual harassment and sexual violence defined in the survey?

For the purposes of this survey, sexual harassment is described as any form of unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature which has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity and creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for the person.

For the purposes of this survey, sexual violence is described as any form of sexual activity or act that is unwanted and that occurs without consent. Acts of sexual violence may constitute a criminal offence. The following are examples of sexual violence (this is not an exhaustive list):

• Rape
• Sexual assault
• Attempting to engage in sexual intercourse or engaging in a sexual act without consent
• Non-fatal strangulation during sexual intercourse
• Inappropriately showing sexual organs to another person
• Stalking behaviours, whether online or offline, which are now being considered to be criminal acts [Details of this can be found in the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023]
• Non-consensual taking or sharing of intimate images or recordings
• Creating, accessing, viewing or distributing child sexual abuse material online or offline
• Controlling, coercive and threatening behaviour

(Source: gov.ie – Sexual Violence).

Both sexual harassment and sexual violence can be committed person-to-person or by communicative means such as written correspondence, telephone, text, email, social media, AI tools etc.

Sexual harassment and violence can be committed by a person of any gender, and it can occur between people of the same or different genders. It may occur between strangers or acquaintances, including people involved in an intimate or sexual relationship.

Where can I access support if I am affected by the issues raised in the survey?

Information on national support services and helplines can be found on the HEA website: Information on national support services and helplines

Check the email you received from your higher education institution with the survey link for a list of institutional support services.

Some national support services and helplines are highlighted below.

	How to contact
An Garda Síochána (police)	Phone: 999/112	In an emergency, if you are in danger or when a crime is happening
	www.garda.ie/en/crime	Further information on how to report a crime
Rape Crisis Ireland	Phone: 1800 77 8888	24-hour free national helpline
	www.rapecrisishelp.ie	Further information on professional and local support
HSE Sexual Assault Treatment Units (SATU)	https://www2.hse.ie/services/satu/	Information on all your care options if you have been raped or sexually assaulted
	https://www2.hse.ie/services/satu/contact/	Locations of HSE Sexual Assault Treatment Units
LGBT Ireland	Phone 1800 929 539	LGBT Helpline
Stalking In Ireland	https://www.stalkinginireland.ie/	For information and support related to stalking in Ireland
Irish Internet Hotline	https://hotline.ie/	To securely, anonymously, and confidentially report concerns in respect of illegal content online
Women’s Aid	Phone: 1800 341 900	24-hour free national helpline
Men’s Aid	Phone: 01-5543811	Confidential national support line (Monday-Friday 9am-5pm)
MOVE Ireland – Men Overcoming Violence	https://moveireland.ie/	Support programme for men to take responsibility for violence. Support for (ex)partners also.

How were the surveys developed?

The surveys have been adapted from the Administrator-Researcher Campus Climate Collaborative (ARC3) Campus Climate Survey. Questions have been adapted and developed in consultation with the HEA Advisory Group on Ending Sexual Violence and Harassment in Irish Higher Education Institutions. Membership of the Advisory Group is comprised of representatives of relevant higher education stakeholder groups and student representation, as well as specialist external agencies and experts in the area of sexual violence and harassment.

Why do you request demographic details in the survey?

We do not ask you for your name or contact details in this survey, nor do we collect IP addresses of participants, meaning that no-one will be able to connect these with your survey answers. The results will be presented in summary form so no individual can be identified.

Demographic information is requested in order to understand your answers in more context. All questions are optional and ‘prefer not to say’ response options are provided on all demographic questions.

The amount of information you provide us with is entirely up to you; please only provide information with which you are comfortable. All information will be held confidentially in full compliance with data protection legislation as outlined below.

Respondents are asked not to identify themselves or any other people when filling in any open text boxes, as this is an anonymous survey.

How will the data be used? What will you do with the survey findings?

The data gathered will be analysed, summarised and discussed in reports that will be published on the HEA’s website and disseminated to relevant stakeholders across the higher education sector. Only aggregated data will be published. Individual survey respondents will not be identifiable. The aggregated survey findings may be presented and discussed at various fora, including the HEA Board, the National EDI Committee and ESVH Advisory Group meetings, and at conferences and seminars.

Summarised institutional level data may be shared with individual HEIs to inform their planning processes, where agreed criteria are met. Individual institutions will not be provided with demographic information.

How will confidentiality be protected?

No personal data or identifying information is requested in the survey. All data collected through this survey will be held securely and confidentially in accordance with the HEA’s cyber security and data protection policies.

The data will not be used for any purpose other than the following: to provide an overall picture of student and staff experiences of and views on sexual violence and harassment across the Irish higher education sector; to inform institutional planning process in relation to sexual violence and harassment.

Access to the responses will be confined to a small group of staff within the HEA. Institution-specific data will only be shared in summary format with individual institutions for planning purposes and it will not include demographic information.

The HEA will only process data in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2018 and the Data Protection Act 2018. If we appoint a data processor, this will be subject to a data processing agreement. At no point will the information you provide be shared in a way that would allow you to be personally identified. Any published material will be anonymised. IP addresses will not be collected by the HEA.

For more information on how the HEA as data controller processes personal data, please see our Data Privacy Notice.

What platform has been used for the survey?

This survey is delivered using Microsoft Forms as part of HEA’s ICT environment, provided by Microsoft. The HEA acts as the data controller and retains full control over the survey and the data collected. Microsoft provides the underlying platform and processes data on our behalf and does not use the data for its own purposes.

Responses may be reviewed within Microsoft Forms to produce preliminary, high-level aggregated results. Responses will be exported securely from Microsoft Forms to the HEA’s internal systems for further analysis. Once the responses have been retained and stored securely, the MS Form that includes the responses will be deleted.

Further questions?

If you have any questions about this survey that have not been answered by this information page, please contact EDIsurveys@hea.ie.