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A study this week by part of the Law Society of Ireland found that Ireland’s sexual offence rate is 43% higher than the European Union average. One in two women and one in four men in this country will experience sexual violence in their lives, according to the Central Statistics Office - but figures show that most of these are not reported.

Just 3,407 sexual crimes were reported to gardaí in 2023 and of those, just 264 have been prosecuted so far (although that figure is expected to rise as more investigations are completed). 

Victims say that the experience of reporting can be retraumatising: it can involve invasive medical examinations, hospital stays, disclosing to parents, partners and friends, or risking further violence from the person involved.

Looming over it all is the question of whether the case will ever get to court. 

Sophie* did everything right after she was sexually assaulted in 2022 by a stranger in a car park of a hotel. When she escaped, she ran to the hotel and phoned gardaí. She was taken to a sexual assault treatment unit.

There was CCTV footage of the attack, and a man was arrested three months later.

When gardaí finish investigating, cases are handed to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), which decides whether the case goes to court. In a statement to The Journal, the office of the DPP said it applies its published guidelines and can only prosecute where the evidence is admissible, reliable and sufficient, and where there is a “reasonable prospect of conviction”.

The DPP was ultimately unable to prosecute Sophie’s case as, according to the DPP reviewer, “the evidence was not strong enough to establish the issue of consent to the high standard of proof required”.  

Separately from Sophie’s case, the DPP’s office told The Journal that in rape cases, prosecutors must assess not only whether lack of consent can be proved, but also whether the evidence can establish, to the criminal standard, that a suspect knew there was no consent or was reckless as to consent.

Sophie said she never considered her case wouldn’t go to trial.

“I have such a rage in me,” she said. “It was pure shock. I accepted a jury might not convict, but to not even get a trial?”

“I’m so furious, I’d do it all again. This let-down by the system – I’d do it again to try and change it. The hurt this caused on top of the trauma I already went through, it is shocking.”

Sophie isn’t alone.

Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

It would appear that cases such as hers are not uncommon. Statistics strongly suggest that the DPP does not prosecute huge numbers of cases. The DPP told The Journal it could not comment on those specific figures, saying they did not emanate from its office.

According to research by the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, CSO data indicates that between 70% and 80% of sexual offences reported to the police between 2018 and 2023 have remained “undetected”, ie no charge or summons has been issued.

In fact, it appears that 13,000 people accused of a sexual offence were not prosecuted by the DPP in the past decade.

Only one third of sexual offence files submitted by gardaí were taken further: 6,300 suspected sex offenders were prosecuted out of over 19,600 accused people.

According to the office of the DPP, the most frequent reason for being unable to prosecute is that evidence isn’t strong enough for a guilty verdict beyond a reasonable doubt. The DPP’s office told The Journal that this is “not a question of who we believe”, but whether all the evidence, taken together, meets the threshold for prosecution. If it does not, its guidelines recommend against proceeding with a prosecution.

This topic, known as evidential sufficiency, was most recently in the public sphere when Nikita Hand took a High Court civil case against former MMA fighter Conor McGregor.

The 34 year-old said McGregor choked and raped her in a Dublin hotel in 2018. Evidence came from surgeons, paramedics and voice recordings from when she returned home distressed. The court found in favour of Nikita and as a result, McGregor was liable for sexual assault and damages. 

It was reported in court that Nikita attended a sexual assault treatment clinic after the assault and there was evidence presented by medical professionals that she had to have a tampon removed from her body by a doctor. Facts such as these are likely to have contributed to public confusion as to why McGregor was not also criminally prosecuted.

The later a sexual assault is reported, the more challenging it is to prosecute.

Emma* told The Journal that she was raped when she was 18.

She had consensually gone to a hotel room with a man when his roommate appeared. When she tried to leave, they refused to let her go and kept her in the room for an hour. Both men sexually assaulted her. One went on to rape her, she told The Journal, before she escaped the room, leaving her belongings behind. 

She did not report the rape at the time. She returned home with clear signs of PTSD, eventually dropping out of college. After intense therapy, she went to gardaí. She spoke for four hours, giving a statement that ran for more than twenty pages. She gave up her medical records and therapy notes from the last decade.

Gardai found both men. One claimed that the sex had been consensual, the other claimed the incident never happened. The hotel staff and people who had been with her on the night gave witness statements but DNA and CCTV were long gone. Emma knew a trial would be difficult. “I’m not the ‘perfect victim’,” she said.

“There are people who do everything right after it happens, and I waited. I was in the room consensually. I always knew it would be an uphill battle. I even asked the guards if I was wasting my time, but they said it was never wasted. They always encouraged me, they said I had a really strong file considering the passage of time.”

The DPP was ultimately unable to prosecute her case.

“I got a phone call to say that they had decided to not prosecute either of the men,” she said.

“You have so much hope, and I was absolutely devastated. I never thought I would get over it.”

One solicitor firm in Dublin knows better than most the challenges faced by victims of sexual assault. 

Dave Coleman of Coleman Legal LLP has specialised in civil ligation for 35 years, and his firm often sees several people per week who are seeking to pursue a civil action on the basis of sexual assault. 

In Coleman’s opinion, the DPP is under-funded and over-worked which is creating a “vicious cycle” of not prosecuting these cases.

“[A majority] of the people who come forward bravely in appalling circumstances are left with nothing,” he added.

In response, the DPP’s office said victims can request reasons where a decision is made not to prosecute, and can also seek a review of that decision. 

On resources, the DPP’s office rejected suggestions it is underfunded, saying its budget allocation has increased over the past four years and that its authorised staffing complement has increased by 38% over that period.

The DPP also said that, once a file is received, a decision is made within four weeks in approximately 73% of cases. 

Emma said the case lived in her head for a long time.  “I don’t regret for a second reporting, and it is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Last year was the hardest time in my life,” she said.

“I would do it one hundred times over, but it’s not easy. During this process it was in my head every single day.”

*Names have been changed

You can contact Dublin Rape Crisis Centre’s free 24-hour national helpline at 1800 77 8888, at any time of day or night.

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