Huge rise in drug rape reports

THERE has been a “phenomenal” increase in the number of drug-assisted rape reports, a counsellor said yesterday.

More people are calling crisis centres this year than in 2002, particularly male victims of sexual violence and women reporting drug-assisted rape.

“As a society, we don’t make it easy for victims of abuse to come forward,” said Ingrid Wallace of the Limerick Rape Crisis Centre.

She said the number of drug-assisted rapes had increased in her area from three cases in 1999 to 28 last year. “There is no particular pattern in the drug-assisted rape complaints. It’s not confined to any particular age group or any particular scene. We’ve had reports of such attacks in everything from house parties to dinner parties.”

She says the culture of shame around rape, combined with the fact that most victims know their attackers, means few complaints to the gardaí. Delays in getting the case to the Central Criminal Court are also a hindrance, she said.

RTÉ’s screening of a repeat of the States of Fear programme about institutional abuse has also given adult survivors of abuse in particular the courage to reach out for help, centres around the country say.

Yet less than one in ten of the people seeking help and counselling are reporting the incidents to gardaí. Counsellors say that because most victims know their attackers, it is difficult for them to press charges.

Others still do not look on the gardaí as being a supportive authority, and just can’t face the trauma of a lengthy delay for a court date, said Sheila Vereker of the Waterford Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre.

“The majority of people that come here do not report to the gardaí. It has always been the case unfortunately that people have the notion that the system is not victim-friendly, and in certain ways it is not.”

The Waterford Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre’s annual report shows an 11% increase in people seeking help, with a 49% increase in the numbers calling its out-of-hours helpline.

Kerry saw a similar increase. In June of last year, the Kerry centre recorded 73 appointments and 13 new clients, three of whom were male. In June of this year, the centre organised 107 appointments and met 13 new clients, two of whom were male.

“Any time that programmes such as States of Fear are aired and victims talk about their abuse, it seems to give others the courage to speak out. We’ve also done up a safety and awareness programme, which is now being rolled out in second-level schools nationwide,” said Lora Gordon of the Kerry centre.

lCentre phone numbers: Cork [phone], Limerick [phone], Kerry [phone], Waterford [phone].