NUI Galway in conjunction with Rape Crisis Network Ireland, (RCNI) will hold a round-table discussion event entitled More than a Hangover: Youth, Alcohol and Rape in Ireland, Wednesday, 1 December from 2pm to 4pm in the Cairnes Building in the University. This event is part of the international '16 Days of Activism against Violence against Women Campaign'. This event will examine the nexus of drinking, sexual violence and young people in Ireland and the issues surrounding them. Speakers include Dr Padraig MacNeela of the School of Psychology at NUI Galway and expert in female student alcohol use; and Dr Stacey Scriver, of the Global Women s Studies Programme at NUI Galway and co-author of Rape and Justice in Ireland (Liffey Press, 2009). Caroline Counihan, Legal Policy Director of the Rape Crisis Network Ireland, will also speak at the event. The Rape Crisis Network Ireland is a national representative body for Rape Crisis Centres in Ireland who provide free advice, counselling and support for survivors of sexual abuse in Ireland. The RCNI role also includes the development and coordination of national projects, supporting Rape Crisis Centres to reach quality assurance standards, using our expertise to influence national policy and social change. It is a national information and resource centre on sexual abuse, sexual assault and sexual harassment, with a proven capacity in strategic leadership including contributions and advice on the necessary infra-structure for a national response to all aspects of sexual violence. Dr Stacey Scriver of Global Women's Studies at NUI Galway says: " Our research has shown that the Real Rape stereotype of a stranger attacking a woman in a public area late at night is a rarity. The reality in Ireland is that very high levels of alcohol consumption are implicated in the majority of rapes and that young women, most of whom have also been drinking, are the target. These aren t stranger rapes but rapes committed by acquaintances, partners and ex-partners. Exploring the issue of alcohol, youth and sexual violence is therefore an incredibly important step in understanding, and hopefully reducing, rape in Ireland." The 16 Days of Activism against Violence against Women Campaign is an international campaign with participants in over 164 countries and involving more than 3,400 organisations. The campaign links 25 November, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, to 10 December, International Human Rights Day, in order to symbolically connect violence against women and human rights and to emphasise that such violence is a human rights violation. There are various events happening on campus, to support the campaign. -Ends-