Big rise in sex assault calls during December

THE two Saturdays during Christmas each saw eight victims of sexual assault treated at the specialist unit in the Rotunda Hospital — including one person who had to make a 10-hour return trip from Donegal.

These two nights accounted for more than half of the 30 incidents that required the involvement of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre in December.

During Christmas week its national helpline took 48 crisis calls, with 12 being first-time reported incidents of rape.