Reports of rape and sexual assaults against women in Scotland have skyrocketed in the last four years, according to a Police Scotland report.
Official figures released this month show an increase of more than 25% in the number of rapes and an increase of more than 80% in sexual assaults since 2018.
A Freedom Of Information Request released by Police Scotland has revealed that between 2018/19 and 2021/22 detected instances of rape against women aged 16 and over have soared from 649 to 816 - an increase of 25%.
Over the same time period, sexual assaults increased from 981 to 1789 - a jump of more than 83%.
Detected crimes are those in which officers have investigated and decided that a crime has been committed.
Rape statistics show Glasgow (73%), Fife (57%), Lothian and Borders (55%) and Edinburgh (32%) have recorded the greatest increases in the number of crimes detected by Scotland's national force.
Renfrewshire and Inverclyde, Lanarkshire and Argyll and West Dunbartonshire are the only three policing areas in Scotland that have seen a decrease in reports with a reduction of 17%, 16% and 8% respectively in the last four years.
Sexual Assault data indicates the largest increases being in Fife (69%), Argyll and West (43%), Lothian and Borders (40%) and Edinburgh (36%).
Though the data also revealed Lanarkshire (-35%), Forth Valley (-28%), North East (-11%) had the biggest decreases, with most policing areas actually seeing a reduction since 2018.
Rape Increases by area
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Glasgow 73%
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Fife 57%
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Lothian and Borders 55%
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Edinburgh 32%
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Dumfries and Galloway 18%
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North East 25%
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Ayrshire 15%
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Tayside 13%
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Highland and Islands 13%
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Forth Valley 5%
Sexual Assault increases by area
- Fife 69%
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Argyll and West Dunbartonshire 42%
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Lothian and Borders 40%
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Edinburgh 36%
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Ayrshire 9%
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Renfreshire and Inverclyde 5%
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