Dublin's equivalent of one rape a day in July

Thirty-One people reported being raped in Dublin in July the equivalent of one sexual assault for every day of the month.

Among reported rapes in the summer months were sexual assaults on underage girls and elderly women.

And the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) has altered its Staying Safe guidelines ahead of next week’s Leaving Certificate results on foot of a new phenomena of females being raped while asleep.

The centre’s chief executive Ellen O’Malley-Dunlop explained: “We’ve discovered cases where at parties a girl goes to bed early and wakes up and there’s a man inside her. People must be aware that having sex without someone’s consent constitutes rape.

“The message is not only to victims but to potential perpetrators,” she said.

In addition to tips about sharing taxis with pals and never leaving drinks unattended, an extra warning is being added so people are aware that “having sexual intercourse with a person without their consent constitutes rape”.

The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre expects to publicise the issue next week ahead of students celebrating exam results on Wednesday.

“Next week the Leaving results come out and Leaving Cert students go away, so we’ll be reissuing this again,” said Ms O’Malley- Dunlop.

By Juno McEnroe, Irish Examiner

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