CYBER sex crime has soared in Scotland over the last three years, with girls under 16 the majority of victims.
Though the latest official statistics show crime in Scotland has fallen by three per cent in the last year, to the lowest level since 1974, the surge in online sex crime has worried ministers.
Justice Secretary Michael Matheson yesterday announced that the government would put together an expert group to tackle the problem.
Sexual crimes in the category that includes internet offences rose by 50 per cent from 2,901 in 2013/14 to 4,360 by 2016/17.
Analysis shows the hikes are down to more “communicating indecently”, up from 605 crimes to 1,166, and “causing to view sexual activity or images” from 229 to 1,030.
The mobile phone was the most common device used in both.
These crimes now account for 20 per cent of all sexual crimes.
There were suggestions that the jump in crimes was in part down to underage sexting and bullying in Scotland’s schools.
Overall, 79 per cent of victims were female and 59 per cent were under 16, while the vast majority of perpetrators, 95 per cent, were male.
Matheson, said: “The sexual crimes research makes clear that more work is required to understand why particularly young males are behaving in this way and to prevent sexual offending.
“While we have taken considerable steps in this area, such as our recent ‘intimate images’ campaign, the national action plan on internet safety and our ‘Equally Safe’ strategy, I am bringing together an expert group to identify further steps needed to better tackle and ultimately prevent such offending.”
Rape Crisis Scotland’s chief executive Sandy Brindley said the rise in online sexual crime was “significant and worrying”.
She added: “This is a wake-up call: now more than ever we can see the urgent need to challenge this behaviour by undertaking prevention work with young people across Scotland.
“In our work with young people in schools, they tell us of everyday sexual assault, harassment, and the sharing of intimate images without their consent.
“If we are serious about tackling the increasing levels of sexual crime being experienced by young people, we must ensure that every young person in Scotland has access to interventions on consent and healthy relationships.”
Overall recorded crime in Scotland dropped three per cent from 246,243 incidents in 2015-16 to 238,651 in 2016-17 – the lowest level since 1974.
There were drops in crimes of dishonesty, fire-raising and vandalism.
Scottish Labour’s justice spokeswoman Claire Baker MSP said: “The rise in violent and sexual crime is deeply concerning and the SNP must not be complacent in tackling these issues.”
“Sexual crime has continually been on the rise and while that can be attributed in some part to increasing confidence in victims coming forward, there are also more attacks being carried out.
“That can be seen in the staggering rise in cyber-related sexual crimes. These are attacks predominantly on young people, by young people, and we can no longer be silent in dealing with these.
“Violent crime is also beginning to increase again and the public deserve better than the Scottish Government spinning lines and statistics. The public has a right to know the true extent of crime in their communities.”
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