One in five sex crimes reported to gardaí involves minors as victims and suspects

One in five detected sex crimes reported to gardaí involve minors as both victims and perpetrators.

According to the latest release of crime statistics from the CSO, there were 96 reported incidents in 2019 where a victim under the age of 18 had been raped or sexually assaulted by another person under the age of 18.

Both victim and suspected offender were aged under-18 in 19.6 per cent of incidents of sexual violence that year, where both an offender and victim could be identified.

In another 26.9 per cent of cases (132), the victim was under 18 and the suspected offender was over 30.

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In 82 (17 per cent) cases the victim was under 18 and the suspect was aged between 18 and 30. In another five (one per cent), a victim was aged 30 or older was sexually assaulted or raped by a minor under the age of 18.

Over 75 per cent of sexual violence cases involved a male suspect and a female victim in 2019, the CSO said. Twenty two per cent involved male on male abuse.

Less than 0.5 per cent of cases involved female on female abuse.

The latest figures on homicide offences related to 2020. They showed majority of detected murders or manslaughters (74.2 per cent) involved a male victim and male suspect.

Just over 16 per cent involved a male on female homicide.

In total there were 32 male victims and six female victims of murder or manslaughter in Ireland in 2020.

The number of female victims of murder or manslaughter has fallen in each of the last three years, the CSO said.

However, the proportion of female victims of physical (non-sexual) assaults rose in 2020.

About 45 per cent of recorded physical assault and related offences last year related to female victims.

The CSO said this is attributable to a greater decline in the number of male assault victims than in female victims during 2020 “and may be an effect of Covid-19 lockdowns.”

There has also been a reported increase in incidents of domestic violence, according to gardaí.