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.

Marcella Breslin did not jump for joy or whoop when a jury awarded her €2.8m damages.

A woman who was raped and sexually abused by her godfather over a four-year period, starting when she was only 12, has been awarded €2.8m damages by a High Court jury.