People are unlikely to report sexual violence to gardaí or to others out of fear of not being believed, according to a new survey.
Eight in ten respondents to an online survey commissioned by the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre viewed this was the primary barrier to accessing support.
The survey of 1,042 carried out by IPSOS B&A and funded by Community Foundation Ireland, centred on public perceptions about sexual assault in Ireland.
One in eight said they would be unsure or express doubts if someone told them they had been raped or experienced sexual violence while under the influence of drink or drugs.
Scepticism was highest among under men under 25 (23%), according to the findings.
One in five people said there are 'a lot' of false rape claims and more than one in ten said that rape and sexual violence is exaggerated by media.
One in six people said that someone who is raped while under the influence of alcohol or drugs is partly responsible for that happening to them.
The fear of not being believed was more prevalent in women (almost nine in ten, versus just under three in four men).
The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre has said the survey has confirmed what it hears from survivors regularly.
Victim blaming silences survivors and deters them from seeking support, justice or healing, according to CEO Rachel Morrogh.
A total of 11% of those surveyed thought that someone should not be believed unless there is a guilty verdict in court and 12% thought that if someone did not report an incident to gardaí they should not be believed.
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The majority assumed that victims find the experience too traumatic or personal to share, often preferring to conceal or forget it in order to move on.
While the prevalence of sexual assault is nearly twice as high amongst women compared to men, 87% agreed that society should do more to recognise the issue of male sexual violence.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Ms Morrogh said that there is an "epidemic of sexual violence" in Ireland to the extent that many women and some men do not feel safe here.
She said that "all of us should have the realistic expectation that we can live in a life free from sexual violence".
