The number rapes reported to the gardaí jumped 38% last year amid an increase in the number of sexual offences and a rise in practically all types of sexual crime.
According to 2018 crime data, released by the Central Statistics Office, there were 117 instances of rape recorded by the gardaí last year.
That figure represents an increase in 32 sexual offences, including rape, when compared to 2017 and it is part of a wider rise in sexual offences, which increased by nearly 35% for the final quarter of 2018.
Upcoming Letterkenny candidate and Sinn Fein Councillor, Gerry McMonagle, described the figures as a ‘worrying trend’ for the county.
Speaking to Donegal’s Chief Garda Superintendent at a recent Joint Policing Committee meeting in Lifford, McMonagle said: “What jumps out to me about these recent figures is the number of increased rapes in the county.
“Is there any particular reason for that? Why has there been such a spike, is it because more people are now willing to come forward about being raped now?”
Rape Crisis Network Ireland said that while there has been year-on-year increases in recorded sexual offences since 2015, an overall increase of 10% in 2018 for the country was “significant”.
Chief Superintendent, Terry McGinn said more had to be done from Garda Síochána and society, in general, to tackle sexual crimes once and for all.
“There is a lot of focus on this issue at the minute and on the Domestic Violence Act,” McGinn said. “Especially, about what happens in marriages, in the home, and what happens in partnerships.
“A lot of rapes are reported after a night out socially in town where people have too much alcohol and then find themselves in this position.
“They could be isolated and next thing they are sexually assaulted,” she added.
“So it happens in varies of different ways and it is the second biggest crime after murder in the country.
“It is a crime that is very, very difficult on the victim and it is a crime that in society, generally, there are issues with peoples drink being spiked and with consent.
“So, there is a lot to be worked at, not just in Garda Síochána, but generally in society.”
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