What assessment it has made of the reasons for the 16% annual rise in reported sex crimes in Scotland in 2023-24.

Annual bulletins containing accredited official statistics and information on the number of crimes and offences recorded by the police in Scotland are published by the Scottish Government. Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2023-24 shows that the number of sexual crimes recorded by the police in Scotland decreased by 1% between 2022-23 and 2023-24, from 14,602 to 14,484.That bulletin is clear that whilst there has been a small decrease in the last year, sexual crime has increased significantly since 2010-11. Over the last decade we have seen an increase in confidence to report incidents of sexual crime, in part reflecting a greater awareness and understanding of the issues among society as well as a move towards a more trauma informed and person-centred justice system.We recognise that multiple factors lie behind the longer term trend of increasing reporting of sexual crime. Our action to tackle sexual offending includes increasing confidence in the justice system so more victims come forward, improving support for victims, modernising the law on sexual offences and investing a record £1.64 billion for policing this year. We continue to take robust action to tackle sexual offending through the Equally Safe Strategy – focusing on prevention, improving our laws, and encouraging more victims to come forward.We recognise the key role that advocacy services can play in helping and supporting victims through the justice process. That is why the Scottish Government will provide over £32m to 23 organisations between 2025-2027, including £12m for specialist advocacy support, as part of its Victims Centred Approach Fund. In addition, the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill includes new proposals such as the establishment of a sexual offences court which aims to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our system at holding perpetrators to account whilst improving the experiences of victims and witnesses.