Reports of sexual offences rise seven percent in past 12 months

The report said that ongoing garda efforts to improve data quality and recording may be a contributing factor to the upward trend in recorded incidents of both sexual offences and crimes against the person in recent years.

There has been a seven percent increase in reported sexual offences in the 12 months to March of this year, recent Garda figures indicate.

While the causes of the rise are not clear, Garda HQ believes it is not just down to an increase in cases but also due to more reporting among victims and improvements in how gardaí gather and record data.