The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) has issued guidelines for people socialising at Christmas and said there are no "grey areas" for victims of rape and sexual assault.
The service said some 2,531 people rang its national 24-hour helpline last December and January – up by 20 per cent on the previous year.
Some 58 people were accompanied to the sexual assault treatment unit at the Rotunda hospital in Dublin by the centre’s volunteers – an increase of 25 per cent on the year before.
DRCC chief executive Ellen O’Malley-Dunlop said although there needed to be a more explicit definition in Irish law of what constitutes consent, the law was “very clear” on the issue of recklessness.
Under the law, someone is guilty of rape if they have sexual intercourse with a person who does not consent to it, and if they know the other person does not consent to it or are reckless as to whether or not there is consent.
The centre urged people socialising during the festive period to look out for each other and to be part of a group. It also called on people to keep their drink in their hand at all times and not to accept a drink from someone they have just met.
It said people should trust their instinct and that if they felt uncomfortable in a place or with someone, they should leave as soon as possible.
The counselling centre said people should also make sure to keep their mobile phones charged at all times, to share taxis, and to phone ahead to give an estimated time of arrival if travelling alone.
If any incident occurs, an individual may go to the sexual assault treatment unit without reporting to gardaí. The incident may also be reported to gardai if the victim wished.
It said there are “no grey areas” for victims of rape. “If a person has sex with another person without their consent it is a crime.”
“A person, when they have been taken advantage of in this way, whether it is due to being asleep, excess alcohol, or any other situation whereby they were not able to give their consent freely, suffers the huge trauma of the effects of the violation of being raped,” the DRCC said.
The age of consent is 17.
The DRCC’s 24-hour helpline number is 1800 77 8888.