Emma Cowing: Time for attitude shift over sexual violence

There has been widespread coverage of the crime, and a general sense of outrage amongst Scottish society. How, people keep asking, could this happen here? Horrific as it may be, the answer appears to be quite easily.

Here is what we know happened: Two 14-year-old girls boarded the No 57 bus as it left the Silverburn shopping centre at around 10:30pm on Friday, 22 March. One girl remained downstairs while the other went upstairs where she was approached by two men, thought to be aged around 18 and 20. Her friend went to the upper deck to see her and, when she saw what was happening, raised the alarm with passengers downstairs. A woman and two men came to her aid and they left the bus two stops away from the shopping centre. The passengers waited with the girls until another bus came and put them on it to travel home, thought to be in the Darnley area of the city, where police were contacted.

No one has been arrested for the crime and investigations are ongoing. According to a police spokesperson: “She was assaulted by both of the men and then seriously sexually assaulted by them.”

It is undoubtedly one of the most shocking cases of sexual violence to have hit the headlines in Scotland for some time. The facts are stark and brutal: the victim was a child, there were two men, and it happened in public, on a bus – somewhere that should be a relatively safe, well-lit environment. The police office in charge of the case says the girl has been left “traumatised”.

The incident begs many questions. There is no footage of the crime – either because the bus was not equipped with CCTV or it was not switched on, even though some First Glasgow buses do have CCTV. There were witnesses (itself rare, rapes seldom have witnesses), yet not one of them called the police.

Why? Were they scared of the perpetrators? Could they not be bothered? Did the girl ask them not to and even if she did, should they have followed her wishes? The witnesses then put the child, as the victim of a serious assault, on another bus. No-one accompanied her home, or attempted to take her to a police station or a hospital. The police have now had to issue an appeal for the witnesses to come forward.

The echoes between what happened here and the horrific gang rape and murder of Jyoti Singh in Delhi last year are chilling. That too, took place on a bus, involved more than one perpetrator, and caused widespread horror. Singh’s murder has prompted some Indians to analyse their country’s deeply worrying attitude towards sexual violence, to question why such a horrific attack happened in the first place, and caused certain sections of Indian society to admit to themselves that India has a dark and serious problem with rape.

When the Delhi case first hit the headlines many in this country looked at what happened and declared “that could never happen here”. It is a dangerous and unhealthy attitude, as complacency so often is, particularly when the facts suggest that we have absolutely nothing to be proud of in this country when it comes to our attitude to sexual assault, and also to its prevalence.

Rape figures in Scotland are rising. In 2011-2012 there were 1,274 rapes and attempted rapes. In 2010-2011 that figure was 1,131 and a decade ago, in 2002-2003, it was 924. While we must put some of this rise down to the fact that rapes are now more likely to be reported than they were ten years ago, it does not get us away from the fact that figures are on the increase.

Between January 2011 and April 2012, 403 rapes were reported to Strathclyde Police alone, and just 208 individuals apprehended. Glasgow Rape Crisis Centre says it has seen an increase of 13 per cent in the number of survivors in the past year receiving support from the centre.

We have a problem in this country. If a 14-year-old girl can be raped by two men on a bus with witnesses nearby and not one of them calls the police, then we are living in a society that accepts sexual violence, and stands back and lets things happen. This is not just about witnesses, but about an entire society’s attitude to protecting the vulnerable, looking out for each other, and refusing to tolerate violent crime.

If this case can teach us anything, it is that it’s time for change. It’s time to stop being complacent.