Fall in sex crimes at odds with support figures
According to the Central Statistics Office, combined reports for the five categories of serious sex crime fell by a third since January 2004.
This has happened during years when the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre experienced a significant increase in demand for support and counselling.
In 2006, the centre escorted 315 people to the sexual assault treatment unit in Dublin’s Rotunda Hospital — a doubling of the 2001 figure and 53% higher than in 2004.
The centre’s last annual report revealed a 10% rise in calls to its helpline. Nationally in 2006, 163 men and 1,315 women were supported by one of 14 rape crisis centres after individual incidents of rape.
However, this week’s headline crime figures from 2007, released through the CSO, revealed a dramatic contradiction. Compared with 2004, the main categories of sex crime fell sharply while reports of the less common sex crimes have fluctuated.
In four years the breakdown of incidents recorded by gardaí were as follows:
Rape of females dropped 18% to 283.
Sexual assault dropped 26% to 774.
Unlawful carnal knowledge dropped 50% to 52.
Anal rape or rape with an object has risen by 1% to 70.
Aggravated sexual assault rose 3% to 17.
Director of the centre, Ellen O’Malley-Dunlop, said the increasing conflict between reports to gardaí and figures from helplines showed a loss of faith in the justice system.
“The drop is definitely a failure in the system. It in no way corresponds with our figures for last year or any year in recent times.
“There is no longer confidence in the justice system. We have seen, since the striking down of the statutory rape law, the Government has been so slow about doing anything to fix it people are choosing not to come forward,” said Ms O’Malley-Dunlop.
Cliona Saidlear, policy co-ordinator with the Rape Crisis Network Ireland, said it is concerned at the fact the trend is seemingly in steady decline.
“It is reflective of a situation where people are not coming forward to report crimes. We have always known the number of reports is a smaller percentage of actual incidents but the fact the number of reports has dropped three years in a row is worrying.”
A number of questions were put to the Garda Press Office in relation to the force’s recording practices and the interpretation of its specialist investigation team. The office had not responded at the time of going to press.
