A leading women’s charity has called for more investigation to determine if Dundee really is the rape capital of Scotland.
Between 2014-15, the city had the highest rate of recorded sexual crimes in the country 37 per 10,000 head of population, or 543 in total.
A total of 114 rapes or attempted rapes were recorded, which was an increase of 41% from 2013/14 and overall, recorded sexual crimes are at their highest rate since 2005.
But the Dundee-based Women’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (WRSAC) said the meaning of the figures is unclear.
Sinead Daly, manager of WRSAC Dundee, said: “There’s work to be done to evidence whether there are actually more rapes happening or if more people are reporting rapes.
“So in truth, we don’t know whether these figures are good or bad.
“There are also reports of historic abuse and people are now coming forward, which increases the numbers.
“From conversations I’ve had, there’s evidence of increased support for young people and so more of them are reporting assaults.
“What we’re finding from our work in schools is that there’s a lot of confusion around what consent is.
“We’re also working closely with police and looking at how we can coordinate our responses to reports of abuse.”
Dundee was the only city in Scotland to record an increase in prostitution related crimes the city saw an increase of 127% from 15 in 2013-14 to 34 in 2014-15.
A Crime and Justice report published by the Scottish Government confirmed there was uncertainty about the meaning of the figures and offered some explanations.
The report stated: “Increases in recorded crimes may be the result of increased reporting, including that of historic crimes.
“Victims may have been encouraged to come forward and report such crimes to the police, following increased media attention on high-profile cases and police investigations.”
The report also explained that increased access to social media and mobile phones have led to an increase in children being sent indecent images or communications.
In Scotland, at least 32% of the 9,557 sexual offences recorded in 2014-15 related to a victim under the age of 18.
Last night, the people of Dundee took action to help end violence against women with a Reclaim the Night demonstration organised by WRSAC.
There was a host of speakers, singers, music, Bollywood dancers and street art to start the march off, with local singer Charlotte Bee performing her Reclaim the Night anthem.
Susi Thompson, WRSAC support worker and event organiser, said: “This is the third year we’ve held the march and each year we have been blown away by the enthusiasm and support for this important event.”