GARDAÍ WERE yesterday investigating a serious assault on a woman as she walked in a park in Dublin early on Tuesday morning.
The incident occurred near the Dodder River at Bushy Park in Terenure between midnight and 2.30am, and it is understood the woman was treated in hospital afterwards.
In a statement yesterday, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre said it was “very concerned” by the increase in the levels of violence accompanying sexual assaults.
“The trauma that follows such an attack is not only borne by the victim herself, but by their family and close friends. This type of attack touches the whole community,” said chief executive Ellen O’Malley-Dunlop.
“We are forced to ask questions like, is it safe to walk alone anymore? Why can we not walk and feel safe? What is happening to us as a society if we cannot feel safe in own neighbourhoods?”
The centre said it had noticed a “disturbing increase” in the violence accompanying sexual attacks over the past two years.
A Garda spokesman appealed to anyone who was in the vicinity of Bushy Park at about the time of the alleged assault to contact Terenure Garda station at (01) 666 6400.
