80% of Irish kids aged 13-17 have experienced sexual harassment

This is shocking.

A new report published by the Rape Crisis Network has revealed some harrowing statistics when it comes to the number of minors experiencing sexual harassment in Ireland. The research showed that as many as eight in every ten young people have experienced some form of sexual harassment. The report examined the level of sexual harassment among people aged 13-17 and found that shockingly 80 per cent of teenagers have experienced it. The report also found that girls were subjected to a higher level of sexual harassment than boys. Among other findings in the report, more than one in five teenage participants in the study said they had been subjected to extreme forms of sexual harassment, with three per cent reporting that they had been raped. According to Dr Michelle Walsh, there were other worrying findings among the data received during the study including one male participant stating that he and his friends targeted the drunkest girl at a party they attended. There were also accounts of young women saying that they had to rescue their female friends with one girl going so far as to say she heard a group of boys saying how they would be 'taking turns' with her drunk friend. Speaking on the report Dr Walsh said;

"Five per cent of young people said they had witnessed one of their peers being seriously sexually assaulted. That is a shocking figure."

She went on to say that she feels online content like porn are skewing the views of young men when it comes to consent;

"In terms of consent, adolescents don’t understand when they are watching porn that consent has happened first [off camera]. It colours their world view as to what is normal in a relationship."

Dr Walsh stated that while better sex education especially regarding consent is needed, sexual harassment is a societal problem and not something schools can tackle on their own.