New figures secured by Clare FM shed light on the extent of sexual violence in this county.
New figures secured by Clare FM shed light on the extent of sexual violence in this county.
Last year, a total of 45 sex crimes were reported to Gardai in the Clare Division.
However, it's estimated that at least as many attacks went unreported.
The figures released to Clare FM show that one rape of a female was reported in this county last year.
22 recent sexual assaults were also reported, as well as further 22 incidents which pre-dated 2016.
According to Gardai, the latter concerned assaults which happened in recent years, and in some cases, decades ago.
In five of the 23 reported cases of recent sex attacks, victims opted to attend the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit for the Midwest.
SATU enables forensic evidence to be gathered for future prosecutions.
Because it's estimated that less than half of all sexual crimes are reported, these figures don't indicate the full scale of the issue in this county.
Anyone affected by the issue of sexual violence can contact Rape Crisis Midwest on 061 311 511 or 1800 311 511. They can also email info@rapecrisis.ie.
You can hear more as Clare FM's Morning Focus investigates sexual violence from 9:00 today (Monday).
