Increase in the number of rapes reported

PoliceIllustration.Police.Photo: Norway Today Media

In the first four months of this year  over 500 rapes  were reported, according to figures from the Police Directorate. That number is the highest in 14 years.

– In 2015 the number was higher than in recent years. Now it seems that there  will be an even greater increase this year, Lena Reif, Head of Intelligence and Prevention in Police Directorate, told the newspaper VG.

From January to April, 509 cases of rape, which is the highest number since 2002, were reported.

– We’re not sure what has caused the increase. It may be that more people have gotten confident enough to report rapes  as a result of increased focus in the media and through the campaigns Kjernekar or how small, which could lead to more people becoming aware that they are being subjected to rape.

But this increase could also be due to a real increase in the number of rapes, said Reif.
The police has also noticed an increase in the number of sexual assaults on the Internet, while there has been a reduction in the number of reports of party-related rapes, and the number of assault rapes are still low,  police inspector Grete Lien Metlid at the Oslo police district’s department of violence and sexual crimes says.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today