The number of people reporting rape and sexual assault to the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) increased last year, according to the centre's annual report.
However, fewer than a third of those starting counselling with the centre in 2006 who were asked if they had reported their case to gardaí said they had done so. Few of these reports ultimately led to a conviction.
The research also reveals that there was an increase of 20 per cent, to 315, in the number of individuals who needed to be accompanied by trained DRCC volunteers to the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit in Dublin.
Reports of rape and sexual assault from adults to the centre's 24-hour helpline increased by 3.5 per cent overall compared with 2005 figures, while there was an 11 per cent increase in first-time callers. The helpline dealt with 15,781 calls last year, of which 12,244 were genuine counselling calls. Almost one in six calls were from males, more than half concerned adult rape and sexual assault, with 42 per cent relating to child sexual abuse. Most victims were aged 18-39.
Elsewhere, the report says that 36 female clients became pregnant after rape or sexual assault last year. In 13 instances they kept the child, while on 10 occasions the pregnancy was terminated. One child was fostered, there were five miscarriages, and the outcome was unknown in the remaining seven cases. However, only 122 of 396 cases involving clients who began therapy with the centre last year and where the reporting status was known were notified to gardaí either last year or in previous years.
Of the 42 cases for which an outcome was also known, one-third were dropped while more than half were still pending. Just five were tried, leading to five convictions.
The release of the DRCC figures follows the recent publication of headline crime statistics which showed that almost one woman was raped every day in the first three months of this year.
However, these figures only refer to the number of attacks reported to gardaí. Experts believe the real figure for such attacks could be significantly higher due under-reporting.
Speaking at the launch of the report in Dublin yesterday, Ellen O'Malley-Dunlop, DRCC chief executive, said the time it took for cases to come to trial and a lack of specially trained gardaí were among the factors influencing a person's decision on whether to report sexual assault to gardaí.
Another factor was the failure to legislate for the provision of separate representation for victims, meaning they often face cross-examination and have to relive the trauma of their experiences. "There is growing concern about the prevalence of sexual violence in our society and its under-reporting," she said. "Why is this not translated into detection and conviction?"
Individuals are most likely to be sexually assaulted or raped by someone they know, and are more likely to report rape or sexual assault to gardaí if the assailant was a stranger, the report reveals.
Almost 60 per cent of adults receiving counselling from the centre said they had been raped or sexually abused by someone they knew.