HEA awards University of Galway €1.3 million in funding in recognition of ‘active consent’ work

By Rebekah O’Reilly

Content warning: Mention of sexual violence. 

The University of Galway has been awarded a special €1.3 million fund to research awareness and education around consent, in recognition of its work on the Active Consent programme.

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris, T.D. announced the Performance Funding at an event at SETU Carlow as part of a dedicated investment by the Higher Education Authority which recognises innovative programmes to help create a better society.

The €1.3 million fund was secured following the submission of a case study which outlines the work of the Active Consent programme, from its inception in 2013 as a consent education and research initiative, to being scaled up from 2019-2022, and its place as a national programme promoting healthy relationships and fostering a culture of respect.

The Active Consent Programme

The programme has worked with nearly all Irish higher education institutions, addressing student needs on consent, sexual violence, and harassment while also upskilling the staff who support them. 

President of University of Galway, Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh stated, “The award of €1.3 million in Government funding to help progress the consent agenda is both a recognition of the success of the work done to date in research, education, and awareness, as well as being a signal of what more can be achieved. The work has always been firmly embedded in one of our University’s core values – respect. I would like to pay tribute to the work of all those involved in Active Consent and those who support its endeavours every day.” 

As highlighted in the submission to the HEA, Active Consent has had a wide-ranging impact in higher education, on national policy, and as part of the national discourse on consent.

22,000 first-year students participated in workshops in the academic year 2022-23, with 90% saying they recommend workshop participation and 91% sharing that they learned something useful. 2,800 students attended live consent drama, with 75% agreeing their understanding of consent improved. 170 staff completed 12-hour First Point of Contact disclosure skills training since 2021.

Rising Sexual Violence

The news of the new funding for consent research and education comes as the latest CSO figures from their Sexual Violence Survey 2022 display a worrying trend in Irish society of sexual harassment and violence.

The survey findings show that 50% of those aged 18-24 have experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months, with 15% of women saying they experienced inappropriate physical contact in the last 12 months. 50% of men who experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months did not disclose their experience. While 3% of adults experienced stalking with fear of sexual violence in the last 12 months.

Dr. Pádraig Mac Neela, Head of Psychology at University of Galway and co-director of Active Consent, said “The Active Consent programme works with young people and staff in universities, further education, post-primary schools, and we have established evidence-based resources, training and education that open up conversations about consent and help young people build the skills that they need… The HEA Performance Funding award will enable us to continue our ten-year story of research, training and education to meet our ambition of having integrated Consent education from post-primary schools into Further and Higher Education.”

If you, or someone you know, has experienced sexual harassment and need someone to speak to someone, resources can be found at Speak Out , or at The Consent Hub.