Pre-recorded cross-examination should be piloted in the courts to better protect vulnerable witnesses such as rape victims, a report has found.

A new definition of consent to a sexual act has been signed off by Cabinet which campaigners say will make the law clearer for victims and judges.

Victims of sex crimes are being "traumatised" by routine demands from legal teams representing their attackers asking for sensitive records from their therapy sessions with counsellors.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN put it succinctly when he declared that “those who would sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither”.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter has insisted a new database of DNA samples from convicted criminals and suspects in serious crimes will respect human rights.

Watching as the prison doors finally closed behind her father, Fiona Doyle sent out a message of hope to rape victims fearful of not being believed: “There will be somebody. Somebody will listen to you.”

This year’s sales are proving to be one of the best ever, according to retailers.

Marks and Spencer and Electric restaurant and bar on the South Mall were the headline winners at the Cork Business Association’s annual awards and gala dinner, held on Saturday at the Maryborough Hotel and attended by nearly 200 guests.

Record damages of €4m awarded by the High Court to a 55-year-old woman who was repeatedly raped and abused as a teenager may suggest juries are becoming more aware of the long-term effects of child sexual abuse, according to the Rape Crisis Network.

Some of Cork city’s biggest retailers have joined forces to offer free parking to shoppers.

The beau monde mannequins of Brown Thomas have entered the realm of contemporary art as the chain turns its windows into galleries for the next three weeks.

Sex abuse campaigners have backed Garda calls to tighten up controls on the tracking of offenders.

ONLY one in 80 perpetrators of child sexual abuse end up with a conviction, a leading survivors’ organisation has claimed.

THE figures from the DPP’s office on all sexual offences, whether recent or historic, give us a useful indication of prosecution trends since 2008 and indicate a non-prosecution rate of at least 70%.

PROPOSALS over the vetting of people working with children should include a requirement that people are re-vetted every three years, an Oireachtas Committee heard yesterday.

ROY KEANE is donning his rubber gloves and duster to back a clean up for charity.

SOME of Ireland’s best-known socialites are rolling up their sleeves to spring clean their homes for a massive charity jumble sale.

THE Rape Crisis Network has expressed horror that a judge has cited an alleged sexual assault victim’s profession as grounds to direct that the perpetrator be found not guilty.

CORK’S worst-kept secret is out.

JUDGES can be “oblivious” to the real impact of crime on the day-to-day lives of victims, Justice Minister Alan Shatter has said.

LOVE was in the air in Cork City Hall yesterday at the launch of a special competition which will see the historic building host its first civil wedding ceremony.

“VERY high levels of alcohol consumption” are implicated in the majority of rapes of young women, most of whom have also been drinking, according to Dr Stacey Scriver of global women’s studies at the National University of Ireland Galway.

WOMEN’S rights campaigners have expressed concern after it was revealed that there was a 37% drop in the number of rape cases that came before the courts last year.

THE Rape Crisis Network wants judges to be given clear guidelines on when they should refuse bail to convicted sex offenders, particularly those who have abused children.

IT was without doubt the Cork social calendar event of the year — Helena Christensen, Jodie Kidd, Ali Hewson, Guggi and Rasher all partying together in the Southern capital.