Rape victims 'should have option to store DNA evidence for year'

Victims of rape and other sex crimes will not have to go to Gardaí straight away under a new service proposed by the country's sexual assault units.

They are planning to give men and women the option of storing DNA evidence for 12 months while they decide what to do.

Ellen O'Malley-Dunlop from the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre said reporting such a crime is not easy, especially when the attacker is known to the victim.

"They find it very difficult to even take on board that somebody that they know has done this to them, so it takes time for them to get the courage to report," she said.

"We would hope that they be given the time to take a decision like that."