Thousands of students rally after woman's explicit images circulated

Thousands of students at University College Dublin (UCD) took part in a rally on Wednesday, after a sexually explicit image of a student was circulated to UCD staff emails and to a large WhatsApp group.

The students' union called the demonstration in solidarity with victims and survivors of sexual violence.

Protestors called on the university to better address the issue and support students.

In a statement, UCD said the university was fully supporting gardaí (Irish police) with their inquiries in an "extremely distressing and complex" case and that they "care deeply about the trauma and anguish" that the student has experienced.

In an interview with RTÉ, Caitlyn (not her real name) said she was the victim of rape three years ago after which a photograph was taken without her knowledge or consent.

Caitlyn, who paused her studies in the medical department after the alleged attack, said she did not report it to gardaí at the time as she thought she would not be believed.

She said the first time she heard that the image even existed was two years later, when she received a call from gardaí to say it had been sent anonymously to more than 170 staff email accounts in UCD.

"My world fell apart," she told RTÉ.

"It was horrendous."

Caitlyn said the accompanying emails included abusive language and derogatory comments about her appearance. She said the messages suggested she should take her own life and used slurs that she found deeply distressing.

The emails were sent from a ProtonMail account, a paid-for encrypted email service that can make tracing senders immensely difficult.

UCD told Prime Time that it "acted immediately" when it became aware of criminal activity, contacting gardaí and attempting to delete emails before they were opened.

UCD also said it had put systems in place to redirect future emails sent from the specific accounts.

Caitlyn says the image arrived directly to her own UCD email address several months later.

And in November last year, the image was shared again, this time to a WhatsApp group of 300 UCD students of which she was a member.

The students' union criticised the university saying it took too long to condemn the circulation of the images and when it came its condemnation was not strong enough.

It has called on UCD to apologise to the student and to the student cohort that received the images of sexual abuse via WhatsApp.

Students' Union Education Officer Matt Mion said he hoped the protest would be a watershed moment for universities such as UCD to take a stand against sexual violence.

He said there was "uproar" across the campus.

RTÉ reported that thousands of students arrived at O'Reilly Hall, with more joining the demonstration as it made its way across the campus and expressing outrage and anger.

Prior to the image-sharing incidents, Caitlyn had taken High Court proceedings against UCD to allow her to progress in her studies after missing exams, which she said was related to the alleged rape.

The court found in favour of the university, noting that UCD had spent months attempting to find a solution and stating that it was ultimately a matter for UCD to decide how, or if, she could be permitted to continue or progress in her studies.

RTÉ reported that the university said there remains an open invitation for Caitlyn to meet with the Dean of the School of Medicine to discuss her options.

Caitlyn says she has not given up on her dream of becoming a doctor and hopes that by speaking publicly about her experience, she can help ensure that similar situations do not happen to others.

In a statement, UCD said that significant numbers of students and staff joined together in solidarity against image based sexual abuse (IBSA).

"We stand with our students and our entire university community in support of the victims of IBSA and all forms of sexual violence," it continued.

UCD said it would work closely with the students' union and "taking a victim-centred approach", would take steps to tackle IBSA and protect the community to the best of the university's ability.

"The needs of the student have been at the centre of the university's response throughout. We care deeply about the trauma and anguish that she has experienced," it continued.

UCD said it wanted to reassure any students who may have been impacted by trauma that student support services are available to them at all times.