Almost a third of rape and sexual assault victims in Perth and Kinross last year were children.
And 29 per cent of survivors who engaged with local support services last year were under the age of 13 when their abuse started.
The shocking statistics were shared with councillors at a committee meeting on Wednesday, November 27.
A police update provided to Perth and Kinross Council’s Housing and Social Wellbeing Committee revealed 53 of the 162 individuals who reported sexual assaults or rapes between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024 were under the age of 16. The 53 children comprised 44 girls and nine boys.
Perth City South councillor Sheila McCole said she was “quite shocked” by the figures.
Chief Superintendent Nicola Russell explained part of the reason for the high percentage figures was underage sex.
Ch Supt Russell said: “Actually victims under the age of 16 are unable to consent and therefore it’s classified as a rape so where we might see some challenges with underage sex where predominantly females feel they can consent, legally they are not able to do so. And that has an impact in terms of those statistics.
“But what we have seen is that specifically young women and girls are much more confident in coming forward to report such offences to the police now.
“We’ll monitor that to see if there is an issue around age demographic and we’ll continue to work with partners around education and support for young people that might be victims of sexual crime.”
A later report to the committee presented by Violence Against Women and Girls coordinator Jennifer Middlemiss revealed 29 per cent of victims who engaged with Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (RASAC) Perth and Kinross last year were under the age of 13 when their abuse started. And more than half had not told anyone.
She said: “From April 2023 to the end of March 2024, 333 survivors of sexual violence engaged with the support services; 29 per cent of survivors were under the age of 13 – 26 per cent experienced rape, 11 per cent child sexual abuse, 11 per cent sexual harassment and 53 per cent of those have never disclosed their abuse to anyone.”
Cllr McCole asked how the work of Perth and Kinross Violence Against Women Partnership tied up with work by the police in schools around consent.
Currently in Perth and Kinross the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign is under way; it launched on November 22 and will run until December 10.
The Violence Against Women and Girls coordinator responded: “Twenty-nine per cent of victims were under the age of 13 when their abuse started, which could be historic. Within the schools and education system, last year RASAC delivered 1700 sessions to schools.”
Jennifer added: “We’re currently looking at a gender-based violence strategy. It’s very varied and full. It’s quite overwhelming and positive the amount of work that’s been done in schools, through community justice and the partnership. Before we had separate strategies but we’re trying to make sure we’re pulling that agenda together so we have that information readily available and we are actively in schools throughout the year as much as we can to engage with young people.”
“The services available within RASAC are really valued and well thought of. Confidence has grown now within survivors who are starting to report in and I think that pays gratitude to the services of Perth and Kinross that people feel they are able to report in.”