UCD apologises to Dr Aoibhinn Ni Shuilleabhain who was…

UCD apologises to Dr Aoibhinn Ni Shuilleabhain who was stalked and harassed by colleague

UCD has issued a formal apology to Dr Aoibhinn Ni Shuilleabhain after she revealed how she was stalked by a colleague for two years.

Dr Ni Shuilleabhain, who is an assistant professor at the UCD School of Mathematics and Statistics, publicly spoke about her harassment on campus in September 2020. In a letter, UCD Acting President Mark Rogers said Dr Ni Shuilleabhain's experience "could not be further from the culture and working environment we strive to create for all members of our community".

He said: "It is clear that you suffered greatly as a result of the direct actions of a member of staff of the university. University policies at the time were inadequate to address the situation, contributing to an inadequate and untimely response to those actions by the university."

He added that thanks to her speaking out about her experiences the university policies and procedures underwent "transformative change". Dr Ni Shuilleabhain shared the letter on Twitter thanking Professor Rogers for the formal apology.

She said: "It is great relief to be able to move on from this with the acknowledgement that my experiences were not adequately or appropriately dealt with. Thank you so much to all my colleagues @ucddublin and other institutions who supported me so much (since 2015). Thank you also to everyone who has brought in change across higher ed to address sexual harassment and violence.

"Thank you also to Acting President Prof. Mark Rogers for showing leadership on this, where it wasn’t apparent before. I’m so grateful for my friends & family who never let me let this go. I really hope others don’t experience what I went through. I hope my kids will grow up & study or work in environments that don’t accept bullying, harassment or violence in any form."

Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris TD praised Dr Ni Shuilleabhain's advocacy. He said on Twitter: "Thank you Aoibhinn for your leadership and thanks to UCD for acknowledging the hurt and pain caused. Aoibhinn's advocacy has brought about so much change.

"Next year we will appoint new senior leadership posts in each college to drive the reforms necessary."

In an interview with the Irish Times in 2020, Dr Ní Shúilleabháin described the ordeal saying her colleague repeatedly asked her out on dates, sent her unsolicited emails, telephoned her and arrived unannounced at her meetings.

In 2019, Professor Hans-Benjamin Braun was charged with harassment under section 10 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997. At the time, the court heard how the harassment took place between May 9, 2015, and July 7, 2017 and issued an order barring the professor from contacting Ní Shúilleabháin for five years.

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