News

Sex crimes in Scotland reach second-highest level in 54 years

Posted on June 24 2025 at 17:15

New figures show that the number of sexual crimes recorded in Scotland is at its second highest level since 1971.

The number of reported rapes and attempted rapes increased by 15 per cent in the space of a year, from 2,522 in 2023-24 to 2,897 in 2024-25.

Statistics also show an increase of more than 60 per cent over the past decade, from 1,809 to 2,897 cases reported to police.

Rape Crisis Scotland’s Director of Prevention and Training Kathryn Dawson said: “Despite record numbers of reported rape, it has the lowest conviction rate of any crime in Scotland. It also remains incredibly under-reported, so these figures still do not show the full extent of people affected by rape and sexual violence in this country.

“We need a robust criminal justice system that survivors and the wider public can have faith in. But the reality is, Scotland is not doing enough to stop rape before it happens.

“The rise of reported rapes shows a consistent failure to tackle the root causes of sexual violence. We hear from young women and girls who experience sexual harassment and sexual assault at school as an everyday occurrence. We are told about teenage boys quoting dangerous figures like Andrew Tate, and young people being influenced by violent sexual content which is terrifyingly easy to access online.

“Prevention work in Scotland is the first and often only line of defence in stopping this behaviour in its tracks, yet it remains chronically under-resourced. Investing in giving young people the tools and education they need to identify, challenge, and report misogynistic and sexually violent behaviour is the best hope we have of tackling the prevalence of violence against women and girls.”

RCS calls for the Scottish Government and MSPs to work together to introduce key legislation for survivors of sexual crime

Posted on March 20 2025 at 13:23

Rape Crisis Scotland have released a briefing calling for MSPs to support key provisions in the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill, including the establishment of a specialist sexual offences court and changes to the provisions of the contempt of court legislation to allow for approved research with juries.

We are also supporting a number of important additions to the Bill, including a presumption of issuing non harassment orders in sexual offence cases (following the excellent campaigning of Amelia Price) introducing a right to independent advocacy support and introducing a requirement for the criminal justice system to provide a single point of contact for victims.

Changes announced by the Sottish Government to the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform Bill

Posted on October 31 2024 at 12:57

The Scottish Government have today announced significant changes to the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform Bill which is currently going through the Scottish Parliament.

The most significant of these changes is dropping the judge-led pilot, where rape trials were to be heard in front of a single judge, rather than a jury. This pilot was recommended in Lady Dorrian’s review of the management of sexual offence cases.

The Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform Bill presents the biggest chance to improve how sexual offences are handled in Scotland for over a century. Change is urgently needed, and we’re hopeful that this Bill will help to bring about real change for survivors.

We’re disappointed that a pilot of judge-led trials, a significant part of the bill, has been dropped.

Landmark judgment on corroboration in sexual offence cases

Posted on October 30 2024 at 12:44

A judgement from nine senior judges has been issued today which transforms the approach to corroboration in sexual offence cases in Scotland. This follows on from a previous Lord Advocate’s reference last October, which resulted in clarification that:

Corroboration must still be used to prove the case against the accused. This means that corroboration will be needed to prove that firstly, the crime was committed and secondly, that the person accused in the case is the person who committed it. There is now no requirement for every separate part of a crime to be proven by corroborated evidence.
Distress, which is observed by a third party, can corroborate a complainer’s account that they have been raped. Penetration does not need to be corroborated separately.
A statement which is made by a complainer after the relevant incident is normally hearsay and cannot be used as proof of fact. An exception to this is where that statement is made de recenti, when the complainer is in a distressed state. Both the statement and the distress, in combination, can be used as proof of fact and as corroboration. They constitute real evidence, when spoken to by another witness (a third party).

New figures show a significant rise in number of reported rapes in Scotland

Posted on October 28 2024 at 09:05

New figures from Police Scotland show a nearly 20% rise in reported rape cases in recent months.

Behind every number is a survivor who has made the decision, which can be a very difficult one, to report what happened to them to the police. It’s essential that every survivor who does report sexual crime is supported though the process.

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