Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) President Shane De Rís today called for national support of consent workshops in third-level institutions, emphasising the “value and effectiveness” of these classes in an address to the Oireachtas Committee for Education and Skills.
De Rís and the President of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), Síona Cahill, were invited to speak to the committee today to make the case for consent workshops.
TCDSU and USI made submissions to the committee ahead of their speeches today. In TCDSU’s submission, De Rís detailed the success of the workshops.
Speaking to the committee, De Rís said that the model of workshops in Trinity “has proven its value and effectiveness”. “The necessity of the workshops cannot be understated”, he said. He credited the success of the workshops to their “inclusive nature” but expressed concern over a lack of resources.
“The challenge now lies in broadening the accessibility of the workshops. We operate in an environment where support services are stretched to the limit and the resources necessary to make the workshops available to all students in Trinity are limited”, De Rís said.
De Rís said: “If this committee, the department of Education and Skills, and the Minister, genuinely want to see change and genuinely want to put an end to sexual violence at third level, we need tangible support in the form of resources. The methods and model is ready to go, we just need the means to do it.”
Addressing the committee, Cahill said: “I’m here before you today not because consent is some “gritty issue” to talk about, or because we’ve got all the answers, but because the issues arising now are a problem that is growing and we’re not going to stand by as a student movement, nor have we ever, and do nothing or be silent on the issue. It has to stop now, but we need everyone on board to make that a reality – including the Oireachtas.”
Speaking to The University Times ahead of her speech, Cahill said that she “welcomed” the invitation to speak today. Cahill called for workshops to be introduced “more formally” on a national level, expressing similar concerns as De Rís about resources.
Recently, Mary Crilly, the head of Cork’s Sexual Violence Centre, said that three first-year students in colleges in Cork had reported being raped since the start of term. The students had not reported the incidents to the Gardaí.
Consent workshops were set up in Trinity in 2016, after a survey found that one in four women had had a non-consensual experience during their time in College. The workshops were first trialled in Trinity Hall, and drew international attention. Trinity became one of the first Irish colleges to introduce such an initiative.
After feedback, the workshops were altered to make them more engaging, with a more conversational approach. The workshops were also changed to be more inclusive of all sexualities.
In May, then-Welfare Officer of TCDSU Damien McClean went to the Student Life Committee with a proposal to expand the workshops. This proposal for a €15,000 rollout of the workshops was approved and will eventually see classes given to sports clubs and societies on campus. Students living in the Binary Hub and Kavanagh Court will also participate in the workshops.
