News

New Scottish Government statistics on sexual crimes

The Scottish Government published new statistics on recorded crime in Scotland this week. These indicate that reported rapes rose by 19% during the year 2011-12, and collectively with attempted rapes, there was a rise of 13% in reported incidents of these crimes.

The new and wider definition of rape which is included in the new Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act (which came into force in December 2010) means that it is likely that the rise in reported rape is due at least in part to the fact that some sexual crimes which would previously have been investigated as sexual assaults now constitute rape.

It is also possible that an increase in confidence among some survivors has led to a greater willingness to report to the police. While these factors may offer some background to the new statistics, any rise in the number of rapes reported is a matter for concern: there may also, quite simply, have been a larger number of rapes. As the statistics published this week indicate, rapes are now being reported in this country at a rate of around three every day. And as we know that a huge number of survivors never report what has happened to them at all, the real extent of the prevalence of this crime figure is likely to be far greater.

Whatever the reason, it is vital that we continue to examine the underlying attitudes and other factors which contribute to these crimes, and take every opportunity to challenge these. Moreover, it is vital that the criminal justice system, in addition to offering survivors of this devastating crime a prospect of justice, continues to act as a credible deterrent to those willing to commit serious sexual offences.

The level of detail currently offered by statistics is still not sufficient to offer an insight into the extent to which the changes the Act have played a part in the rise we see today, and Rape Crisis Scotland will continue to campaign for improvements not only in survivors' experiences of accessing justice, but also in a statistical picture which will allow us to gauge the extent of those improvements accurately.

Today’s statistics also show a marginal rise in the “clear-up” rate for sexual crimes from 55% to 57%. A crime is considered to be “cleared-up” where there is a sufficiency of evidence under Scots law, to justify consideration of criminal proceedings. Rape is a serious crime that can take a great deal of courage to report, and for someone who has been through this experience to be told that their case will not be prosecuted can compound a devastating experience still further. It is currently the case in Scotland that only around 25% of cases of reported rapes are prosecuted, and it is vital that we continue to make every effort to ensure that the remaining 75% of rape complainers also have access to justice.

You can see the new statistics (Recorded Crime in Scotland 2011/12) at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2012/06/1698/downloads

There is a pdf is at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0039/00396025.pdf

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