4% of sexual assaults end up in court - survey

Only 4 per cent of all cases of rape and sexual assault ever go to court, according to figures from the Rape Crisis Centre.

The centre said its research showed only half of all victims of sexual violence ever tell anyone else about their experience and that only one in ten report it to the gardaí.

Just 40 per cent of cases forwarded by the gardaí to the Director of Public Prosecutions end in a court case.

The Rape Crisis Network of Ireland (RCNI) today released a report into Ireland's attrition rates in rape cases. The report examines why the rate of successful convictions is so low.

Speaking at the report's publication, Minister of State at the Department of Justice Frank Fahey said it was vital that victims be encouraged to report their ordeals so that the State can punish against offenders. "By doing so, further incidents against the same or other victims are prevented."

According to provisional crime figures for the first quarter of 2005, there were 10 per cent more reported rapes in the year up to March 2005 than in the previous 12-month period. A total of 333 women were raped in that period.

"That is a very frightening problem and one that demands action in relation to these crimes," Mr Fahey said.