Courts heard 32% more rape cases last year

THE downward slide in new rape cases being brought before the courts has been halted, figures obtained by the Irish Examiner reveal.

Last year there was a 32% increase in new rape cases entered for hearing at the Central Criminal Court which deals with rape and murder trials.

It was the second consecutive year which showed an increase in the number of rape cases being brought before the Central Criminal Court.

There had been a dramatic slide in new rape cases being entered since 1998.

That year the number of new rape cases entered for hearing was 130. That figure plummeted to 40 in 2004.

But 2005 saw a slight upturn with 44 new rape cases entered for hearing and this figure rose again in 2006 to 58 according to the latest court figures.

Miriam Duffy, coordinator of the Rape Crisis Centre in the Mid-West, said although the upturn was small, they would be very encouraged that the slide in the number of new rape cases being entered for hearing seems to have been halted.

She said: “I would like to think that more women are finding the strength to continue through with court proceedings and we offer support right through the whole process.”

Ms Duffy said our lowest conviction rate in Europe for rape discouraged women from going through with prosecutions.

The Central Criminal Court figures show the court completed 52 murder trials last year compared to 42 the previous year; it completed 56 rape trials in 2006 compared to 71 in 2005 and five aggravated sexual assault prosecution compared to three in 2005.

Other figures show that last year 24% of those convicted of murder at the Central Criminal Court were non national.

This is the first time such a statistic was entered in the court figures.

In 2006 there were 33 new murder cases entered for hearing and this figure represented a drop of 6% on the 2005 figure.