Shock at huge rise in north-east sex crimes
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MSP Tess White has called for a Victims Law “to give women the voice they deserve” after new figures show sexual crimes have soared across the north-east.
Sex offences such as rape, attempted rape, sexual assault and crimes associated with prostitution have all increased in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Angus in the last year.
The new figures published by the Scottish Government show 113 rapes occurred in Aberdeen, a 20 per cent rise compared to 2021, while sexual assaults also increased.
In Aberdeenshire, the number of rapes rose to 95, a 44 per cent increase on the previous year. Sexual assaults and the possession of indecent images of children also increased by 26 per cent and 35 per cent.
And across Angus, rapes rose by 76 per cent with 79 attacks occurring over the last year.
The figures follow previous warnings from Ms White who recently met with transport minister Jenny Gilruth to discuss what measures the Scottish Government was taking to improve safety on public transport.
The north-east MSP has also called on the SNP Government to change the law in a bid to stop convicted sex offenders from changing their identities.
Tess White MSP said: “These figures are truly horrifying and every single one of these cases is one too many.
“It’s sickening that women in the north-east are now more at risk of being victims of sexual crimes than they were before.
“The SNP’s soft touch justice approach is failing to keep Scotland safe and is instead putting the interests of criminals ahead of those of their victims.
“We need to give women the voice they deserve which is why I fully back Scottish Conservative plans for a Victims Law. It will give victims the power to make statements in court and scrap the not proven verdict, which has often let down victims in sexual assault cases.
“I also support our proposals to ban sex offender name changes to ensure that public safety is the priority.”
Figures can be found at https://www.gov.scot/publications/recorded-crime-scotland-year-ending-september-2022/documents/ for public scrutiny.
