A LENGTHY sentence handed down yesterday to a vicious rapist may encourage more victims to report sexual attacks.

A VICTIM of Cork rapist Trevor Casey has told how her psychological torment was compounded by the spectre of political involvement in his sentencing.

LEAVING Certificate revellers are being urged to agree on safe driving plans this evening if celebrations include travel by car.

THIRTY-ONE people reported being raped in Dublin in July — the equivalent of one sexual assault for every day of the month.

YESTERDAY marked the second anniversary of the statutory rape crisis which arose when the Supreme Court found the existing legislation to be unconstitutional as it did not allow a defence of not guilty due to an honest mistake regarding the girl’s age.

There has been widespread criticism of a suspended sentence handed down to a man found guilty of mulitple counts of rape.

Anyone convicted of grooming a child for sexual exploitation could soon be facing up to 14 years in jail.

The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre says it received almost 2,000 calls to its helpline last December and January.

Campaigners have given their support to the students union at Trinity College in Dublin, which is to offer sexual consent classes to new students.

Figures from the Dublin Rape Crisis centre suggest that the majority of women they work with who become pregnant because of rape choose to keep the baby.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has said that the level of sexual violence in Ireland remains "disturbing".

The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre saw a rise of 30% in first time callers to its helpline last year.

July and August saw a spike in the number of people attending the sexual assault unit in Dublin.

Broadcaster Bibi Baskin and journalist Fiona Looney have spoken publically for the first time about their personal experiences of sexual assault.

The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre says it expects a rise in calls to its service over the Christmas period.

The Taoiseach will formally open the new home of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre today.

MORE people are reporting rape or sexual assault committed by a stranger or someone they just met, while a growing number of victims are also suffering physical violence, psychological abuse and intimidation.

CRIES for help received by the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre last year were equally divided between childhood sexual abuse and adult rape.

YOUR front page lead story headline (July 20) read ‘373 girls of school going age raped in one year’.

SUPPORT agencies struggling to cope with increasing numbers of victims of sexual abuse have appealed to Justice Minister Dermot Ahern to delay the publication of the Dublin Archdiocese report into child sex abuse.