Rape crisis - Lack of trust in judicial decisions

PERSISTENT warnings that rape victims would stop reporting sex attacks if they failed to get justice in the courts are borne out by a dramatic fall in cases coming before the gardaí.

There can be no other plausible explanation for the sudden drop of more than 44% in the number of reported cases in the first quarter of this year. To suggest the incidence of this most heinous of crimes has suddenly plummeted overnight and that Ireland’s rape crisis is diminishing stretches credulity to the limit.

Unsurprisingly, this country’s shabby treatment of rape victims has been made an election issue by the Rape Crisis Network which calls for changes in legislation with the aim of ensuring that victims get fairer treatment in future than they are receiving under the existing system.