First Minister’s Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament am 5:08 pm ar 31 Hydref 2024.
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the reported rise in sex crimes. (S6F-03488)
Let me state strongly, as I have done previously, that violence against women is totally abhorrent.
Although I want to see a reduction in the number of sexual crimes, we all know that sexual crime is underreported. One of the multiple factors behind the rise includes a greater willingness among victims to come forward, alongside increased support for survivors, including the use of pre-recorded evidence and a greater consistency in approach and the use of specialist police officers.
However, it is the ending of such violence that should be our goal. Those who perpetuate sexual violence and abuse, the majority of whom are men, must be held to account. It is only through fundamental societal change in the behaviours and attitudes of men that women can be protected.
Police Scotland received more than 7,000 reports of sexual crimes between the start of April and the end of September this year, showing the upward trend. That also included a 20 per cent rise in the number of reported rapes. I acknowledge what the First Minister said—more people are reporting, which is progress. Of course, the rise is indicative of the fact that male violence against women remains endemic, which the First Minister and I agree on. There is no part of the world where women are safe from such crimes—I am sure that we agree on that, too.
Does the First Minister agree that Scotland should be a leading country in tackling the issue and in how our criminal justice system treats victims of rape and sexual violence? However, the Government voted to extend the limits for trials until the end of next year. Given that one of the most distressing aspects for victims of sexual assault is the length of time that cases take to come to court, can the First Minister give the Parliament a guarantee that the Government will not seek any further extensions to court time limits, as it did yesterday, to give victims some comfort that delays in our courts will continue to be reduced?
I agree with the overwhelming majority of what Pauline McNeill has said, if not all of it. I commend Police Scotland for the work that it has done in driving some of the increase in reporting through the very successful “That guy” campaign, which I think is acknowledged across the parliamentary chamber as one of the most effective means of communication.
The Government is still dealing with the implications of the Covid pandemic on the criminal justice system, and we have sought approvals from the Parliament for further extensions. However, we will not seek any further extensions to those arrangements—I give Pauline McNeill that assurance.
Obviously, there are other steps that we can take. Indeed, yesterday, the court of appeal determined on the Lord Advocate’s reference in relation to corroboration, which will obviously have an effect on questions in relation to prosecution.
Figures that were released earlier this week show that 1,400 rape allegations were made in Scotland between April and September this year, which represents an increase of around 20 per cent on the same period last year. Although it is encouraging that more survivors are coming forward to report such abuse, more needs to be done.
Last year, I worked with a rape survivor, Ellie Wilson, to urge the Scottish Government to introduce guidance on how higher education institutions should handle cases of sexual misconduct. What progress has the First Minister’s Government made to ensure that such guidance is issued?
I will have to write to Pam Gosal with the definitive answer to that question. During my time as education secretary, with my ministerial colleagues I undertook work on what has become known as the Emily test, in response to the terrible case of Emily Drouet, who was a victim of sexual violence. That approach was rolled out across our higher education sector. I will look carefully at the point that Pam Gosal makes. We must make a range of interventions to ensure that individuals are able to come forward in such circumstances. However, we must also take steps to change the culture among men and their attitudes towards sexual violence. That will have to happen if we are to improve the lives of women in our society.
As convener of the Criminal Justice Committee, I have heard much testimony from survivors of sexual violence and what they perceive to be barriers to their cases getting to court. Will the First Minister outline whether yesterday’s appeal court decision on corroboration will improve access to justice for victims of sexual crimes?
The Lord Advocate’s view of yesterday’s decision is that it has the potential to transform the way in which all offences, and in particular sexual offences, are prosecuted, and that it will contribute to the
“development of a progressive and humane justice system.”
I welcome any decision that will do so, as, I am sure, all members will. As Audrey Nicoll will recall, I served on the Criminal Justice Committee, under her convenership, last year, and I heard much of the powerful testimony to which she refers. The Government is taking forward the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill, which commits us to having a trauma-informed justice system that puts victims and witnesses at its heart. We want to ensure that anyone who has been a victim of a sexual crime has confidence in our justice system.