36% of adults who suffer abuse take no action - survey

36% of adults who suffer abuse take no action - Safeguarding Ireland study

Updated / Friday, 6 Nov 2026 06:00

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More than one third of people who believe they are experiencing adult abuse take no action, according to Safeguarding Ireland.

A REDC survey of 1,000 adults found that more than one third (36%) did not act in circumstances where they believed that abuse was happening to them.

Some 20% said they did nothing because they did not know what to do, while 16% said they chose not to act.

When compared with previous REDC surveys, Safeguarding Ireland found there was "a significant increase" in online abuse.

It was identified by 40% of respondents, with the same figure for psychological abuse. Coercive control was experienced by 32%

Adult abuse appears to be "widespread", according to Safeguarding Ireland, with almost two thirds (63%) saying that they had either personally experienced or witnessed abuse of another person.

The survey found that people are more likely to act when they witness abuse affecting others than when they experience it themselves.

Over three-quarters (77%) of witnesses took some form of action, compared with 58% of those who had personally experienced abuse.

The findings have highlighted the need for greater awareness that reporting suspected abuse is an essential part of adult safeguarding, according to Safeguarding Ireland Chair Patricia Rickard-Clarke.

HSE Chief Social Worker Amanda Casey encouraged people to report abuse - if it is happening to them, or to a person they know.

The HSE has teams in each region and an online portal through which people can do so.

The survey was conducted to mark Adult Safeguarding Day, which takes place annually to inform people about preventing, reducing and reporting adult abuse.

Not all cases reported - Safeguarding Ireland

Other findings revealed that women are more likely to report experience of abuse than men.

Some 68% of women reported either personal experience or witnessing abuse, compared with 58% of men.

Younger adults were more likely to report their experiences.

Around three-quarters (74%) of 18-34 year olds reported either personally experiencing or witnessing abuse, compared with 52% among those aged 65 and over.

Almost 15,000 cases of alleged abuse are reported to the HSE Safeguarding Office each year.

But Safeguarding Ireland believes the actual figure is much higher because, according to Ms Rickard-Clarke, not all cases are reported.