Chamberlain: Women and girls deserve better as sex crimes rise

Scottish Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Wendy Chamberlain MP has today said that Scotland “still has mountains to move” to tackle violence against women and girls as new figures revealed a 7% increase in sexual crime.

Figures from Police Scotland show that in the year ending September 2024:

• 15,704 sex crimes were recorded, a 7% increase on the previous year (14,651) and a 12% increase on the year ending September 2021(14,052).
• Domestic abuse increased by 22% compared to the previous year.
• Rape and attempted rape increased by 11% compared to the previous year, and by 25% compared to 2021.
• Recorded crimes of indecent photos of children increased by 24% compared to the previous year, from 756 to 936.

Former police officer and Scottish Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Wendy Chamberlain MP said:

“Scotland still has mountains to move to tackle violence against women and girls.

“The increase in sex crime may be partly down to more reporting, which is only to be welcomed, but it still points to a very worrying trend. By ditching the misogyny law proposed by Baroness Kennedy’s working group, the SNP threw away a real chance to get on top of the problem.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats have a realistic plan to tackle violence against women and girls in all its forms. That includes getting ministers to finally implement crucial protections contained within the Domestic Abuse Act and end their long delays.

“We would back that up by giving police officers the tools, time and expertise to ensure these crimes are properly pursued.”