Frequently Asked Questions

If you are unsure about how to name an incident and think it might be sexual harassment, violence or intimate partner abuse or violence then you are welcome to access TUS services and explore this with our advisors.

Everyone frames their experiences differently. Please do not worry if the language we have used on this page does not fit with how you are choosing to label your experience.

The support is confidential, which means your situation will not be discussed with anyone outside the service, unless we have your consent to do so. Exceptions to this rule apply only if there are legal or statutory obligations to disclose, or if there is a risk of serious harm to the client or to others.

For more information about this please see our  Confidentiality Policy.

Yes, we provide support to staff and students who have experienced or are experiencing intimate partner abuse. This is regardless of whether you consider there to be a sexual abuse element to the abuse.

We can also support you to access other specialist services within the community if appropriate to your circumstances.

Consent is the freely given verbal or non-verbal communication of a feeling of willingness to engage in sexual activity. There is no consent if the victim is asleep or unconscious; if force or the threat of force is used; if they cannot consent because of the effect of alcohol/other drug; if they cannot communicate consent because of a physical disability; if they are mistaken about the act or about the identity of the other person; if the only indication of consent came from a third person; or if they are being unlawfully detained at the time of the act. Failure to resist is not consent and that consent, once given, may be withdrawn at any time before or during the act. This definition is consistent with the definition of consent in the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017. 

In accordance with the Employment Equality Acts, 1998-2015, Sexual Harassment is defined 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. Such unwanted conduct may consist of acts, requests, spoken words, gestures or the production, display or circulation of written words, pictures, or material.

Sexual harassment can be committed by a person of any gender and it can occur between people of the same or different genders. It is often gender targeted and perpetrated to demean, diminish, and intimidate. Sexual harassment may occur between strangers or acquaintances, including people involved in an intimate or sexual relationship.

This is not an exhaustive list, but if you are unsure whether what you have experienced is sexual harassment or violence, this list may help:

• Making unwanted/unsolicited remarks of a sexual nature, either directly, or via text or social media apps (sexting)
• Verbal, non-verbal or physical harassment in a sexual context (including verbal or physical advances, requesting sexual favours, asking about a person’s sexual preferences or activities, making disparaging remarks of a sexual nature)
• Predicating inclusion or access to work or study opportunities or other advantages on participation in interactions of a sexual nature 
• Grooming, psychological abuse and coercive contact
• Kissing without consent
• Touching inappropriately through clothes without consent
• Non-consensual taking or sharing of intimate images or videos. Image based sexual abuse is the sharing, or threatening to share, an intimate image or video without their consent. Image Based Sexual Abuse is illegal in Ireland under the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act, 2020
• Sexual cyberbullying
• Inappropriately showing sexual organs or images of sexual organs to another person without consent
• Creating, accessing, viewing or distributing child pornography material online or offline
• Stalking behaviours whether online or offline
• Attempting to engage in sexual intercourse or engaging in a sexual act without consent  
• Sexual violence or engaging in a sexual act without consent.  

Sexual violence can be defined as any act of a sexual nature that a person did not consent to. This can include rape, sexual assault, childhood sexual abuse and exploitation, sexual harassment, and taking or sharing sexual images without someone’s consent.  

TUS may take action at any stage with the aim of protecting all parties. Any such measures will be reasonable and proportionate and will have the minimum possible impact on the Responding Party, while also providing a safe environment for the Reporting Party. These measures are not disciplinary sanctions, and they do not indicate that TUS has made conclusions regarding any alleged breach of discipline, failure to meet the required standard of conduct, or criminal offence,  and can be instituted to facilitate an investigation or pending the outcome of the TUS disciplinary process.

The measures in the examples below are in line with measures outlined in TUS Student Code of Conduct and and TUS Staff Code of Conduct.

Safety plan actions must be reasonable and proportionate and may include:

• Imposing conditions on the Responding Party (for example, requiring the Responding Party not to contact the Reporting Party and/or certain witnesses and/or requiring the Responding Party to remain out of certain libraries, restaurants/cafeterias, clubs and societies, social spaces etc.)
• Making appropriate arrangements to ensure separation of the Responding party and Reporting party in delivery of teaching and supervision (for example, moving the Responding party into another tutorial group or laboratory group).
• Temporarily excluding a student Responding Party from their studies or make alternative tuition arrangements (in the case of alleged Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence by a student). Temporary exclusion means that the student Responding Party is prohibited from participating in the academic activity of the university and their registration on their course is put on hold. A qualified or partial temporary exclusion may be put in place where appropriate.
• Placing the Responding Party on Temporary Suspension (in the case of alleged Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence by a staff member).
• Excluding/restricting the Responding Party (for example, prohibiting the Responding Party from using the sports facilities or from attending a placement). Exclusion means that the Responding Party is prohibited from taking part in certain university activities, using certain university facilities and/or entering certain university grounds or premises. A qualified or partial exclusion may be put in place where appropriate.

In order to ascertain the type and extent of any Safety plans, TUS will undertake a risk assessment on a case-by-case basis.

The Safety plans that are put in place should be those which will best protect the investigation and/or the Reporting Party /others from harm whilst having the minimum possible impact on the Responding Party. Note that in cases where one party has made an allegation against another(s), TUS will have to consider the interests and welfare of both and endeavour to treat them fairly and equally when undertaking the risk assessment and ascertaining the potential effectiveness and impact of safety plans.

The type of misconduct, the circumstances of the incident, the circumstances of individuals involved, and the views of the Gardaí/prosecutor, if applicable, will all be relevant in assessing risk and in determining if, and what precautionary action is required. The risk assessment should include consideration of the support arrangements that need to be put in place, to protect and support the parties involved, and to protect any investigation that may be undertaken. As circumstances may change during the life of the matter, the risk assessment and any safety plans that are put in place should be reviewed at regular intervals and reconsidered as the case develops.

Any decision to impose a precautionary exclusion/suspension on a student or staff member can have serious consequences. Therefore, such a step should only be taken where the risk level is high and where there are no alternative measures that could be put in place to mitigate that risk. Further, any exclusion/suspension decision should be fixed for a specified period and subject to review at regular intervals.

The decision to temporarily exclude/suspend a student or staff member as a precautionary measure should be made at a senior level and the Responding Party should have an opportunity to:

• Consider the reasons why such a decision might be made
• Make representations to the decision-maker before the decision is made (or if that is not possible or appropriate due to the urgent or sensitive nature of the matter, as soon as possible thereafter)
• Request a review at any stage if there is a material change in the circumstances of the case.

Note that it may be appropriate for the disciplinary procedures to provide that a decision to temporarily exclude/suspend may be made by a senior member of staff at a level which enables any appeal to be reserved to the President.

[1] Adapted from IUA How to Respond to Alleged Staff or Student or University Related Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence: IUA-Guidance-for-Universities-Consent-Framework­Final_May2020.pdf

It doesn’t matter if you were drinking, using drugs, what you were wearing, or who you were with. If you did not consent-it is still sexual assault or another sexual offence.

This is an allegation made without foundation, and with malicious intent, where a person knowingly or without regard to whether it is true or not, accuses another person of alleged sexual harassment or sexual violence against them.