Issue 31: March 2001 - Youth Work Ireland

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seen pornography.• Of those who had seen pornography, 3 out of 4young men had accessed Internet porn, comparedto I in 3 young women. Home computers are themost common access point, with almost half (48%)using their own and a third (33%) using friends.• 49% of young men and 31 % of young womenreported that pornography made them feel betterabout sex as they learnt about it and it helped theirperformance. However, 1 in 5 (20%) reportednegative impacts and felt it was degrading andexploitative.Safe and Unsafe Sex• 1 in 5 young people (19%) admitted having sexwhen drunk (drugged, and focus group discussionshowed that there is a sexual culture where drinkand drugs are seen both as an excuse to have sex,as well as to eschew responsibility for oneself andothers. Getting /being drunk clearly interfered withyoung men and young women's clarity about themeaning of consent.1 Having sex when drunk/drugged left the largestgroup of young men feeling that it was ok andnormal whereas the largest group of young womenreported feeling dirty/horrible, something no youngmen reported feeling.• 17% of young people reported that they had hadunprotected sex.Double Standards• 50% of young people believe there is still a doublestandard between boys and girls regarding sex, with56% of young people saying that girls are calledsluts or thought less of, if they have multiplepartners, and 55% saying that boys get respect formultiple partners.Personal Safety and Place• 55% expressed concerns about safety in the street- of this group, 37% concerned about physical attack29% about street crime, and 25% about sexualattack (this group comprised almost completely offemales). Being stalked kidnapped and followedwere also concerns articulated by young women.1 46% had concerns for safety in discos/clubs/pubs.Here, fear of physical attack and fear of rape as aresult of being drugged, and of sexual assault ingeneral stood out. The fear of physical attack wasshared by both groups, although felt somewhat morestrongly by young men, but fears about sexualassaults were overwhelmingly expressed by youngwomen.1 Almost 1 in 5( 19%) reported concerns about theirIrish YouthWork Scenesafety in relationships, with 1 in 4 young womenexpressing concern, and 1 in 8 young men. Genderdifferences are further amplified when the preciseconcerns are examined. For young men, it isprimarily sexually transmitted diseases andpregnancy, whilst young women also fearpregnancy, but twice as many feared beingused/abused, and a few explicitly referred to fears ofrape.• Young women expressed more concerns for theirpersonal safety, and much of their anxiety revolvedaround forms of interpersonal abuse: a significantminority were explicit about their fears of rape andsexual assault, harassment or being abused withinrelationships.IsKnowledge of Abuse of Others su1 Being followed, flashed at, subjected to nasty Esexual comments, pressured to have sex, forced tohave sex, being sexually assaulted, hit by a partner,injured by a partner, being in fear of a partner, beingcontrolled by a partner.• 95% of young women and 84% of young menreported knowing someone who had experiencedone of the specific forms of harassment. 68% ofwomen and 47% of men reported knowing someonein at least 4 categories, while 5% of femalesreported they knew someone who had experiencedall 10 experiences. The person known wasoverwhelmingly female.• 1 in 4 young women reported knowing someonewho was forced to have sex, with the majorityreporting that it had happened to a peer.• 46% reported knowing someone who was hit by apartner (56% of females, 31 % of males) whilst halfwere peers, 8% reported their parents being hit by aparent. The perpetrator was overwhelmingly male(92%).• 53% of young people reported that they had beentold of this experience by another (65% of youngwomen, 36% young men). Very few young peoplereported either seeking assistance from others (3%)or confronting the perpetrator ( 1 % ).• All of the young people found providing support Idifficult, with the most common problems beingShearing upsetting accounts and uncertainty aboutSwhat action to take.uYoung People's Own Experiences Of AbuseEs• Being followed, flashed at, subjected to nastysexual comments, pressured to have sex, beingforced to have sex, being sexually assaulted, hit bya partner, injured by a partner, being in fear of apartner.• 81% of young women and 54% of young menMarch 2001IssuEssIssuEs
eported having experienced at least one of thespecific forms of harassment/abuse, 2 out of 3young women and 2 out of every 5 young menreported having had more than one experience.1 1 in 3 young people bad been followed flashed atand/or had nasty sexual comments directed at them.Most of these incidents had occurred duringadolescence with the majority of perpetrators beingmale.1 Being pressured to have sex was reported by 15%of the young people, whilst being forced to have sex(5%) and being sexually assaulted (6%) wasreported by a minority.1 Young women reported far more incidents ofadolescent non-consensual sex and sexual assault.The majority of perpetrators were over 18 andknown to them1 7% of young people reported being hit by a partner(8% of young women, 6% of young men), but1 in 8 young women reported being controlled by apartner compared to 1 in 20 young men.1 Overwhelmingly, when young people toldsomeone about their experience, it was a friend thatthey told.1 Violence and Abuse are a large part of youngpeople's lives, either through personal experience orknowing someone. Vast majority support each otherand do not look outside themselves for help.Support Needs of Young People1 60% of young people would use "adult" supportservices as they see them as being confidential anda way of accessing advice and information.1 78% of young people want issues covered by thisresearch discussed in schools, although over halfwant this done by outsiders.1 Young people are an important source of supportto each other, however many expressed concern atthe limits on them to do anything which requiredmore than this.1 Young people have high levels of contact withharassment, abuse and violence - many youngpeople know of someone In theirfamily/friendships/community groups who hassuffered harassment, abuse or violence.2. Young people demonstrated a lack of clarity aboutdefinitions of rape, assault and harassment.3. Young men and women demonstrated differingviews about double standards consent and how toyes and no to sex.4. Young people had high levels of exposure topornography and a majority of young women havingsome contact with pornography.Irish YouthWork Scene 55. Young people had difficulty disclosing theirexperience of violence, harassment and abuse dueto lack of appropriate support structures andservices including life skills education.RecommendationsWomen's Aid as a result of the information gainedthrough their provision of services and researchstudy recommend the following:Services1 Funding for design and production of specificallytargeted and appropriate promotional materialswhich will encourage young people to considerexisting helplines.1 The development of further support servicestargeted at young people, e.g. protection andintervention services, one-to-one and outreachservices.Awareness and Training1 A public awareness campaign providinginformation and awareness materials and mediaactivity in relation to violence and abuse directedspecifically at young people.1 A public awareness campaign in relation to theaccessibility and impact of pornography, in particularin the home, via the Internet.1 Training for teachers, youth workers and serviceproviders in relation to disclosure and referral in thecase of violence and abuse.Prevention1 A mainstreamed prevention education programmedelivered by appropriate services. The programmeis a response to the necessity for education work, inrelation to violence and abuse and should includesessions on lifeskills, awareness, strategies tochange and challenge and to provide support andinformation. External service providers in responseto young people's requests as voices in thisresearch would deliver the programme.For more information, please contact:Teresa O'Donnell or Rosie McGlone,Women's Aidat 01 874 5302 or 087 919 2457,orDenise Charlton at 087 243 8603March 2001IssuEsIssuEsIssuEsIssuEsIssuEsIssuEs
Page 3: Abuse, Harassment and ViolenceHidde
Page 7 and 8: (c) A concern was expressed that so
Page 9 and 10: A Picture of BallinasloeBy John Lan
Page 11 and 12: Policy & FundingNEW INITIATIVE LAUN
Page 13 and 14: For further information contact:De
Page 15 and 16: ResourcesESTAT E-BASED WORKWITH YOU

Issue 31: March 2001 - Youth Work Ireland

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