Rape Crisis Scotland

City centre rapes - how can we respond?

Strathclyde Police have announced that 2 young men have been arrested in connection with one of the recent rapes in Glasgow city centre. Many people have been shocked at the age of those accused of dragging a woman into a lane in Glasgow city centre and raping her. What it is that could lead to men as young as 14 and 16 carrying out such a horrific crime, and what can we do about it?

Police are describing the number of recent city centre sexual attacks as a ‘spate’. There is something about the brazenness and seeming randomness of the attacks that really brings home the fact that rape is a crime which could happen to anyone. Reaction to stranger rapes such as these tend to fall into two categories – advice to women about how to keep safe, and calls for safety measures such as more CCTV, increased police presence on the streets and gating of lanes. In response to one of the lane rapes, the police advised women not to ‘go off on their own’ on a night out. Fair enough, but how are you supposed to get home if you don’t happen to live with every person you ever socialize with?

Safety measures such as gating lanes after 10pm are definitely worth considering. There are practicalities which would need to be worked through – some of the lanes have pubs or clubs in them – but it is generally the quiet deserted lanes which rapists are using, so there is no reason why this can’t be implemented in a sensible way. Lots of women feel uneasy walking past the lanes in the city centre. If there is a way of improving women’s sense of safety in the city centre, while at the same time limiting the opportunities for rapists to carry out their attacks, then it seems like madness not to do this.

We need to be clear, however, that measures such as advising women not be alone in town, or gating the lanes, are not really addressing the fundamental problem. If someone is determined to rape, and they see women in pairs or a group, they’ll find someone else who is one their own. If the lanes are gated, they’ll find somewhere else. To reduce the actual incidence of rape, we need to look at what it is that creates the mindset of someone who is prepared to commit this kind of crime.  Where does a 14 year old get the idea that it might be acceptable to rape someone? We are not going to tackle this unless we are willing to look at the impact of easily accessibly violent pornography. The average age for young men to access pornography is 11 years old. It would be naïve to think that accessing images of women being raped and humiliated – and linking these images to sexual arousal – is not going to have an impact on young men’s views of women and of what ‘normal’ sexuality is. Most parents would be horrified if they were aware of the kind of images young people are accessing online. If we don’t address this issue, our fear is that we are going to see increasing numbers of young men carrying out these devastating crimes.

Tell us what you think – what steps do we need to be taking to make women feel safe in the city centre – and to make sure we actually are?

An open letter to Amazon

“We were disgusted to hear this morning that you are selling "The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover’s Code of Conduct" and that you have refused to remove it from your store. As a rape crisis organisation we are contacted daily by survivors to whom child sexual abuse has done untold damage, often under the guise of "love" or some other pretence or delusion that it is some kind of legitimate sexual leaning. Child sexual abuse is no such thing - it is a serious criminal act which ruins lives. And make no mistake about it - child abuse is what this title incites and encourages, and until you remove it from your catalogue, we will no longer be using you as a supplier, and will urge others to do the same.”

This is just the latest in a long line of products stocked by Amazon which promote rape and sexual assault. Previous complaints have resulted in the removal of such items, although it seems that every item must be protested individually as Amazon refuse to take a stand themselves or acknowledge any sense of responsibility in the marketing of these materials. In peddling this criminal trash for profit, Amazon are aiding and abetting those who abuse and exploit women and children the world over. In their willingness to defend the titles like "The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure", they are a contributing to sexual abuse, and it’s time they got a grip and acknowledged that.

We feel convinced their sale of this title must be in breach of the law – what do you think?

If you want to send your own views to Amazon, you can do so at http://amzn.to/bmyt54 or call 0800 496 1081 to make a complaint.

Rape Crisis Scotland

Welcome to our new blog!

This is a feature completely new to the Rape Crisis Scotland website and is an area where we hope to discuss topical issues relating to sexual violence, and actively engage visitors to our website in those discussions.

You are welcome to post comments below at any time, or to suggest further comments for discussion. Please be aware that the comments are moderated and there will be a delay between the submission of your comment and its appearance on the website.