The number of reported rapes increased by 39 per cent last year compared to 1996 figures, according to a new Garda study released yesterday.
Almost a third of the reported rapes were carried out in previous years but not reported until 1997. Most of these were alleged offences against children.
The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre last night said it was heartening to see that more victims were finding the confidence to report rape. According to the study, by the Garda Research Unit based in Templemore, 70 more rapes were reported last year than the 180 reported in 1996.
Overall, reported sex crimes rose by 23 per cent in 1997, which runs contrary to a downward trend for most other serious crimes. Other key findings suggest that the vast majority, 87 percent, of victims knew their rapists, with "stranger rape" accounting for only one in eight cases.
The study of rape statistics for the period 1994 to 1997 was undertaken by the Garda Research Unit to examine the reason for the recorded increase in rape. There was speculation that the rise reflected an increase in reporting the crime rather than in the crime itself.
Mr Kieran O'Dwyer of the Unit found that in each of the four years studied there was an element of reporting rapes carried out in previous years. In the 1997 figures, delayed reporting accounted for almost one-third, 30 per cent, of the increase. The director of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, Ms Olive Braiden, said she was encouraged that more victims seemed to have the confidence to come forward. "It's heartening to see that, but we must remember the appalling effect that rape has on the lives of victims and ensure that the services are put in place to support them," she said.
She described as "disturbing" the level of intra-familial abuse, which the report shows accounts for 22 per cent of reported rapes.