Three female college students have allegedly been raped in Cork since the start of the university term, campaigners have said.
The city's Sexual Violence Centre says it had seven requests for initial appointments last Monday - linked to seven recent incidents.
The head of the centre has issued a warning about male 'predators' targeting women as they leave pubs and clubs.
Mary Crilly - who raised the issue at a meeting of the Cork City Joint Policing Committee - is also calling for more resources for the Garda Protective Services Unit, which investigates serious crimes such as rape.
The campaigner said her organisation deals with similar cases every year, and some of those affected may not come forward immediately.
She explained: "We would come across this year after year, year after year. Very often, the girls come to us at exam time, when they can't cope. Then they might disclose that at the beginning of the college year but they tried to get through."
"This time they've come earlier. Two of them wanted to drop out of college - we're trying to help them through that so they realise what happened wasn't their fault."
She added: "Unfortunately, most victims - male or female, young men or young women, or even women in their 70s who I have met in a sex assault treatment unit - nearly all say it was their fault, because that's what victims are told."