Minister Jim O’Callaghan launches new sexual violence awareness campaign
- Published on: 29 September 2025
- Last updated on: 29 September 2025
- New multimedia campaign developed by Cuan, the Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence Agency, informs and reassures victims and survivors that help is always available when they are ready to seek support
- Campaign encourages victims and survivors of sexual violence to look for support, and aims to reduce shame and stigma
- Launch coincides with publication of new Cuan-funded ESRI report on measuring sexual violence prevalence
The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan, will today launch a new stream of the ‘Always Here’ awareness campaign to inform and reassure victims and survivors of sexual violence that help is always available when they are ready to seek support.
Central to the campaign is the message that ‘You’re Not Alone’. Should a victim/survivor want to take that difficult step to seek help, whether from Cuan-funded organisations in the community and voluntary sector, state agencies or Sexual Assault Treatment Units (SATUs), they will be listened to, taken seriously and will receive the support they need.
Minister Jim O’Callaghan said,
“We know the importance of criminal justice, of strong legislation, of improving policy, and of a coordinated approach in our work to combat sexual violence.
“But a fundamental priority will always be to ensure that victims and survivors feel encouraged and empowered to speak out about their experience, and to seek support.
“Figures from the CSO Sexual Violence Study found that almost half of those – women and men – who had experienced sexual violence did not tell anyone else what had happened to them. We need to do better, we need to tell victims that they are not alone, that there are supports available, and that they will be heard. This new campaign that I am honoured to launch will go a long way in conveying this important message.”
The Always Here campaign website – alwayshere.ie - has information on national helplines for both men and women subjected to domestic and sexual violence. It has an interactive map where people can find local services in their county. It also has information on supports for people who are under 18, and for older people and those with disabilities, as well as practical information on how to make a safety plan or what to expect in a criminal trial.
This new strand of the multimedia campaign will run nationally over the coming six weeks across TV, national and local radio, digital and social media, and will be complimented by a major out-of-home campaign on billboards and digital screens throughout Ireland.
Dr. Stephanie O’Keeffe, CEO of Cuan, said,
“The 2022 Sexual Violence Survey in Ireland estimated the lifetime prevalence of sexual violence to be 52 per cent among women and 28 per cent among men. Over 20 years ago, similar levels were reported in the SAVI report.
“However, comparisons of sexual violence rates over time are found to be complicated by differences in definitions and measurement approaches. It is important to consider these issues when examining sexual violence prevalence rates and when developing future surveys examining sexual, or any type of gender-based, violence.”
Alongside public awareness campaigns, another core element of Cuan’s remit is promoting research on DSGBV.
Today’s campaign launch coincides with the publication of a new literature review, Measuring the Prevalence of Adult Sexual Violence in Ireland: A Review of Irish and International Literature. This review, undertaken by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) as part of a research programme with Cuan, underscores the need for careful and standardised measurement of sexual violence prevalence in Ireland.
Dr. Elish Kelly, lead author of the report, said,
“The 2022 Sexual Violence Survey in Ireland estimated the lifetime prevalence of sexual violence to be 52 per cent among women and 28 per cent among men. Over 20 years ago, similar levels were reported in the SAVI report.
“However, comparisons of sexual violence rates over time are found to be complicated by differences in definitions and measurement approaches. It is important to consider these issues when examining sexual violence prevalence rates and when developing future surveys examining sexual, or any type of gender-based, violence.”
The current burst of Always Here will run until early November 2025 with further bursts of the campaign to run in 2026.
The new Cuan-funded ESRI literature review Measuring the Prevalence of Adult Sexual Violence in Ireland: A Review of Irish and International Literature is now available on the ESRI website and on gov.ie/cuan.
ENDS //
Notes to Editor
‘You Are Not Alone’
The new Always Here public awareness campaign on sexual violence – ‘You Are Not Alone’ – was launched by Minister O’Callaghan in the Department of Justice on 29 September 2025.
The launch featured a screening of the new TV ad, as well as a panel discussion featuring representatives from An Garda Siochana, the Dublin Sexual Assault Treatment Unit, the ESRI, Rachel Morrogh of Dublin Rape Crisis Centre and Bláthnaid Raleigh, writer, survivor and advocate.
The campaign will run across TV, radio, digital and out of home advertising platforms from 22 September until 2 November. Assets include a 30” TV advert in English and Irish that will be broadcast across all major TV channels. Two radio adverts will accompany the campaign, which will include one female and one male ad.
The TV advert for this campaign, titled ‘You’re Not Alone’, tells the story of a victim/survivor of sexual abuse and her journey towards hope and healing. It depicts the internal experience of many victims and survivors with an affecting external representation of these feelings. By representing this experience, we can offer understanding and validation to victims and survivors while connecting with those who are going through a similar experience and offer them hope and positive action.
The advert focuses on ‘Sive’, a victim/survivor of sexual violence, who to all intents seems to be living a very normal life. She goes to work, the gym, meets her friends, except the world around her will appear on screen blurred and distorted to represent her isolation and disconnection due to what has happened to her. When a friend reaches out to ask her if she is ok, the friend’s face emerges from the blur. Encouraged by this moment of connection and compassion, Sive is shown to start her road to recovery by reaching out to a service.
The advert finishes with a voice over saying “if you are a victim of sexual violence, support is always here”. The end frame encourages people to visit Alwayshere.ie or contact An Garda Síochána. The radio, out of home, digital and social assets also include information on the National Sexual Violence Helpline.
Cuan worked closely with a Campaigns Advisory Committee to ensure that the insights of experts, including front line service providers, informed the campaign’s development. Cuan also placed focus group work, including seeking the guidance of victim/survivors, at the heart of the concept testing process.
More information on the Always Here campaign is available at https://www.alwayshere.ie
‘Always Here’, is a key action of the Protection Pillar of Zero Tolerance, the Third National Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence Strategy. It is intended to speak directly to victims and survivors of DSGBV to encourage and empower them to get help and support when they are ready.
A range of campaign assets are available at the following link: https://www.alwayshere.ie/awareness-campaign/
Halfway down the page there is a selection of campaign assets:
- TV Adverts
- Radio Adverts
- Social Media Assets
Contact: Niamh Moraghan: nmoraghan@cuanagency.ie
Measuring the Prevalence of Adult Sexual Violence in Ireland: A Review of Irish and International Literature
This new review of available international and Irish evidence conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) underscores the need for careful interpretation of prevalence data. Comparisons of sexual violence rates across countries and over time are found to be complicated by differences in definitions and measurement approaches.
The review was undertaken as part of a research programme with Cuan, the statutory domestic, sexual and gender-based violence agency co-ordinating and driving the implementation of the Government’s Zero Tolerance strategy. It notes that the definition of sexual violence has evolved over time, reflecting, for example, changes in broader societal views on what constitutes sexual violence (e.g. non-contact as well as contact). As a result, it is difficult to compare survey findings on sexual violence over time and across countries.
The 2022 Sexual Violence Survey (SVS) in Ireland estimated the lifetime prevalence of sexual violence to be 52 per cent among women and 28 per cent among men. This compares with rates of 42 per cent for women and 28 per cent for men from the Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland (SAVI) survey that was conducted in 2001. However, while nationally-representative surveys of sexual violence are the gold standard for understanding the prevalence of sexual violence, these two sets of findings cannot be compared directly due to differences in survey mode (telephone vs web), the types of sexual violence considered, and question wording and ordering. Future sexual violence surveys should consider greater standardisation in both the questions asked and the overall survey design.
The study found that administrative data sources, such as police reports and support services’ records of sexual violence, are useful for monitoring and assessing broad trends in sexual violence. However, such data cannot be relied on for measuring the prevalence of sexual violence, as the information captured focuses only on those who come into contact with particular services. There is scope for improving the quality of administrative data by standardising data collection across the support services network, thus enhancing the usefulness of these data for monitoring of trends.
This study is available to read on the ESRI website at https://www.esri.ie/ and on Cuan’s webpage at gov.ie/cuan.
Contact: Dr Elish Kelly: elish.kelly@esri.ie