CALLS to the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) increased by 75% in the wake of the Ferns Inquiry into the allegations of clerical sexual abuse was published, the centre has revealed.

RAPE ranks among the most heinous of crimes, and it is therefore extremely worrying that sexual attacks

Dublin City Council is being urged to act on a report which says sexual harassment is a "significant threat" to women in public spaces.

RAPISTS in Galway have a greater chance of getting away with the crime because victims have to travel 300 miles to be forensically examined, it was claimed yesterday.

Ireland is in the grip of a sexual violence epidemic, according to the chief executive of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC).

FURTHER evidence of the funding crisis hitting services for rape and abuse victims has emerged with the Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) revealing its members have less than two-thirds the budget they need to survive.

The latest report on the incidence of rape, the most heinous of crimes against women, reflects a truly shocking picture of society where sexual violence, including gang rape, is now increasing alarmingly.

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 Rape Crisis Network is reporting a spike in calls to their service after a rapist in his 70s was freed on bail this week, having been convicted of abusing his daughter.

Fresh controversy surrounds the case of sex offender Anthony Lyons after it emerged his six-year sentence can only be reactivated if he reoffends within two years of his release, rather than during the full six-year period.

Children in Ireland need to be learning the difference between rape and sexual consent at a much younger age, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre has said.

FEWER women may report rape because there is no nationwide network of sexual assault treatment centres in hospitals, experts have warned.

FOR more than 30 years survivors of clerical sex abuse have been attending rape crisis centres the length and breadth of Ireland.

MORE than 200 women attended Ireland’s main sex assault treatment unit in the first eight months of this year — meaning an attack was reported almost every day during the period.

THE fact that some rape victims can endure a harrowing 11-hour delay before undergoing forensic examination is a damning comment on the inadequacy of our response to their plight, in a community where sex crimes have been swept under the carpet for decades.

THE Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) experienced an increase of 16% in calls to the its national 24-hour helpline for victims of rape and sexual abuse in the first six months of 2009.

There have been calls for tougher sentences in cases of rape and sexual assault - after a 72-year-old man was bailed despite pleading guilty to the rape of his daughter over a nine-year period.

The Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI), responding to the Government’s announcement of a referendum to be held on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, call on participants in the public debate to be respectful and informed by the best available facts and compassionate understanding when discussing the realities facing girls and women in Ireland pregnant following rape.

Counselling services across the country were on standby today as survivors of clerical abuse mark the first anniversary of the harrowing Ryan Report.