Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, TD
Minister of State
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill is the Fine Gael TD for Dún Laoghaire and Minister of State with responsibility for EU Affairs & Defence
We are delighted to share on this site details of the first Dignity & Respect conference to be hosted by UCD.
This conference aims to inform key roles within the Higher Education Sector and the wider community about the issues faced by our students and employees. A key objective is to help build capacity and add to the skills and expertise in the sector to ensure that effective and trauma-informed support becomes available to all students and sectoral employees.
This conference will be of interest to Student Support Professionals, newly appointed Sexual Violence and Harassment Prevention and Response Managers and their teams, Students Union Officers, Complaints Officers, Professional Investigators, EDI professionals and other individuals interested in contributing to the establishment of safe, respectful, and supportive campus cultures.
DateThursday, 2nd May 2024
TimeRegistration opens at 09:30. Conference closes at 15:30
FeeN/A
LocationAstra Hall, Belfield Campus, UCD
OrganisersDignity & Respect Support Service
Book nowJennifer Carroll MacNeill is the Fine Gael TD for Dún Laoghaire and Minister of State with responsibility for EU Affairs & Defence
Professor Maeve Eogan is an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at the Rotunda Hospital, the longest established and busiest maternity hospital in Ireland. She is also the HSE national clinical lead for Sexual Assault Treatment Unit (SATU) services, and provides care at the SATU at the Rotunda. She is an honorary clinical associate Professor in UCD and RCSI. Prof Eogan’s special interests are provision of care for people who have experienced sexual violence, optimising access to responsive healthcare, health promotion in pregnancy, inclusion health and prevention and management of pelvic floor issues after birth.
In 2018, following an 18 year police career including detective roles in sexual and child abuse and major crime, Chris moved to the higher education sector with the University of Cambridge as Senior Investigating Officer. Chris has since joined Anglia Ruskin University as their first Investigations Officer managing the University’s response to a range of disciplinary issues. Chris has responsibility for investigating sexual misconduct, policy development and staff training on responding to sexual violence disclosures. Since coming to higher education and recognising the challenges with this work, the dearth of experience and practical guidance, coupled with the issues associated with ‘criminal justice drift’, Chris undertook both undergraduate and master’s degrees in Applied Investigations and Investigation Management. His dissertations for both degrees explored the investigation of sexual violence reports in the context of higher education.
Detective Sergeant Lorna O Connor is attached to the Divisional Protective Services Unit at Kevin Street Garda Station.
Having worked in An Garda Síochána for almost 20 years, Detective Sergeant O’Connor has spent the majority of this time specialising in the investigation of sexual and gender based violence and can therefore offer an insight into the role of An Garda Síochána in the investigation of these very difficult crimes as well as advice in relation to supporting students who may be in this situation.
Gerry Buttner, MSc (UCD-CCI), is employed as a Senior Cyber Security Analyst at the UCD Centre for Cybercrime Investigation. His work encompasses the financial, government, law enforcement, and military sectors of cybersecurity. Gerry's focus includes the development of training programs, national perspective threat intelligence platforms, threat monitoring, penetration testing, vulnerability assessments, malware analysis, and systems administration. He has engaged in research in the fields of graphic design, distributed systems, incident response, digital forensics, and cybercrime. Furthermore, Gerry acts as a Consultant Cyber Security Specialist to both public and private sector entities, advising on cyber threats and intelligence.
Prior to his role at the UCD Centre for Cybercrime Investigation (CCI), Gerry was a member of An Garda Síochána and gained extensive experience as a Detective in both the National Garda Bureau for Cyber Crime Investigation and general crime investigation.
Michelle graduated as a psychotherapist from The Tivoli Institute in 2010. She works as a clinical trauma therapist in Galway city.
Michelle leads the Education and Training department in the Galway rape crisis Centre. She is a passionate advocate in sexual violence prevention and sexual violence Disclosure development.
Creating Trauma informed spaces within our education institutes, community and frontline services is key to easing the long-term effects of sexual violence in our communities.
Gemma is the Clinical & Therapeutic Lead, Active* Consent, University of Galway. She is an accredited psychotherapist, specialising in Sexual Violence and young people for 18 years.
One of her key roles with Active* Consent is to facilitate the First Point of Contact training (FPOC), to staff and students on campus in Galway, the CPD Module; Consent, Sexual Violence and Harassment: Practitioner Skills & Practice (PS6158) and the Further Education and Training & YouthReach sector (FET) nationally.
She is a member of the Psychological Counsellors in Higher Education Ireland (PCHEI) Executive who provide support for student counsellors and facilitate continuous professional development across all HEI’s.
Declan Fahie PhD is a qualified primary school teacher who has taught in Ireland, the UK and Italy. He is currently the Director of School Placement at the School of Education, UCD where he also teaches Sociology of Education. Declan has published nationally and internationally on workplace bullying and harassment, toxic leadership in higher education, research methods and sensitive research methodologies. A member of the Teaching Council, Declan is part of a national research consortium examining the lived experiences of targets of sexual harassment and sexual violence in Irish higher education.
David is a motivational speaker who’s goal is to empower and inspire others to embrace their full potential. He has a master’s from UCD’s schools of computer science and psychology and a Diploma in Creativity and leadership (UCD Innovation Academy).
David is the author of the book “The Mindful Spark – Reclaim your Past, Reset your Future”. Is an instructor in Mindfulness based Stress Reduction , Koru and Buteyko breathing. Is a guest presenter in over thirty modules in 15 different schools within UCD
Dignity & Respect Student Ambassador, College of Social Sciences & Law.
Heuston Train Station: the Dublin Bus route 145 from Heuston station serves UCD.
Connolly Train Station: take the DART service southbound to Sydney Parade station.
Dublin Bus: UCD is well served by public transport. Bus stops are located at the rear of the Sports Centre (Stop 877, served by the S4 is the closest to the Ad Astra Hall) and the main terminus next to the Sutherland Building.
Stops are also located just outside campus gates at Roebuck Road, Clonskeagh Road, Fosters Avenue and the N11 (main entrance). Use the (opens in a new window)TFI Journey Planner and Real Time information to get the best possible routes.
By Car: Limited hourly paid parking is available in designated car parks and charges apply 08:00 -17:00 Monday - Friday (excluding bank holidays) during the Autumn & Spring UCD teaching trimesters. Parking is limited on campus and available on a first come, first served basis. UCD strongly encourages the use of sustainable transport modes where possible. Learn more about Parking in UCD.
(Disabled parking spots are available in all car parks)