Some €1 million in funding is to be granted to research projects investigating issues such as gender-based abuse and sexual harassment.
The Irish Research Council will support 77 projects which will focus on various contemporary societal challenges.
Among the projects is a collaboration between Dublin City University and the National Women’s Council which will investigate Irish female journalists’ experiences of abuse and hostility on social media.
Another project, spearheaded by Lisa O’Rourke Scott of Limerick IT, will examine gender-based abuse in collaboration with Haven Horizons, a charity which works with victims of abusive relationships.
Sarah Cooney of University College Dublin will work with Bodywhys, the national eating disorder association of Ireland, to look at the challenges facing Irish society with respect to body image and eating disorders.
University College Cork’s Louise Crowley will work with a secondary school on educating and empowering young people to “speak up and demand a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of sexual harassment and violence”.
In a press statement, Harris said: “This is a really important partnership between our research family and community and voluntary groups. This will be incredibly valuable because it will examine societal issues and the impact on the most vulnerable in society.”
“The questions this research will examine are some of the greatest societal challenges we are facing”, Harris said. “For example, the research on body image and eating disorders. The conversation is often limited to describing the experiences of young women.”
He continued: “This project brings together leading experts, Bodywhys, the public and patients to work together to enrich our understanding of the diverse challenges society faces with respect to body image and eating disorders.”
“This is a really important partnership between our research family and community and voluntary groups. This will be incredibly valuable because it will examine societal issues and the impact on the most vulnerable in society. The community and voluntary sector plays a critical role in Irish life and will continue to do so. The questions this research will examine are some of the greatest societal challenges we are facing.”
