Michael D reigned supreme as the nation bid fáilte to Obama and farewell to McAleese in a tumultuous year, writes Political Correspondent Shaun Connolly

TEENAGERS are being targeted and sexually abused the same way as adult women, according to a report.

ABUSE survivors’ groups have hailed the progress made by Catholic dioceses in opening up to allow audits investigate their child protection practices.

A STATE group tasked with overseeing child protection in Ireland has been set up — a year after former HSE chief executive Prof Brendan Drumm said the health service should not have responsibility for the sector.

THE number of sex crimes carried out by juveniles has nearly trebled, official figures show.

THE number of registered sex offenders breaching their notification requirements to gardaí doubled last year, official figures show.

THE number of 14-year- olds being counselled following sexual assault in Cork almost doubled between 2009 and 2010 and many of the alleged abusers were other teenagers.

Our hypersexualised society is having devastating consequences for children, with teen rape cases far more commonplace writes Claire O’Sullivan

A 15-YEAR-OLD girl was being interviewed by specialist gardaí yesterday over claims that she was raped by a 14-year-old boy during a Junior Certificate disco.

RECORDED crime figures have fallen in all categories for the first time since quarterly figures were produced by the CSO in 2006.

MORE than half of people seeking counselling from the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) last year experienced childhood sexual abuse.

COUNSELLING services throughout the country have reported a significant increase in calls from people seeking help following the publication of the Cloyne report.

A Dublin man will be sentenced next month for the repeated rape of his partner’s then 11-year-old daughter in her Galway home.

The country’s largest rape crisis centre has assured victims that its website is secure after what was initially thought to be an anti-feminist attack by hackers claiming to be from Islamic State.

The Government has been forced to update its freedom of information website after a security breach.

Campaigners against domestic violence fear that shame over a fetish lifestyle may prevent women in danger from seeking help.

Anna Bubula came to Ireland to start a new life but claims she was raped and sexually assaulted while being held against her will. A Garda investigation has been launched into a failure to properly investigate the matter, writes Michael Clifford. Here is Anna's story.

A six-month sentence given to a Roscommon man convicted of sexually abusing his five-year-old daughter is "too lenient", it has been claimed.

Abuse victim Mairia Cahill has passed on the names of around 35 alleged abusers to the gardaí and PSNI.

A man has been given a suspended sentence for sexually assaulting a woman as she slept at a party.