Busy Streets not safe

In the past month in Glasgow, there have been two serious sexual attacks on young women walking out late at night in the busy streets of the city. All the attacks involved the woman being dragged up a quiet lane off the main road and all attackers have been described as Asian or Eastern European.

 

This spate of despicable rapes and sexual assaults seem to be done on the spur of the moment. Two of the rapes involved more than one man, which seems to suggest there are opportunist rapists stalking the streets of Glasgow.

 

The streets are busy in Glasgow, but the small dark lanes off the main roads can be isolating and relatively sound-proofed with the tall thick Georgian buildings standing either side. The worrying issue is that these men are willing to take the chance and are raping young women within earshot of the public and bars emptying in this busy area.

 

What a terrifying thought: that men can wander a busy street with rape in mind, watching for a young woman to overpower and assault. Women in the Glasgow area have been told to be more alert whilst walking out late at night in the city - the police can’t say women shouldn’t walk alone through the city at night as that would affect tourism and make my home city sound like a dangerous, sex-addicted, violent hell hole.

 

And it isn’t.

 

There is just an upsurge in ‘some men’ taking their deviant behaviour onto the streets. And the fact that they have been described as Eastern European and in another case Asian will strike fear into the heart of the migrant communities.

 

Glasgow is a very diverse city, one which embraces its differences and devours the cultures of those joining its Clyde Built melting po’t, and make no mistake racism is still alive and kicking in Scotland, especially with the ‘new wave’ of immigrants from Eastern Europe, Afghanistan and the African continent. We don’t need a flame of anger to ignite a bonfire of hatred; these rapists need to be caught and dealt with swiftly.  The most recent attack happened on Friday night in Glasgow where a 16 year old female was pulled into Bath Lane by an Asian male.

 

All of the above assaults have been interrupted and the women have been aided by members of the public but the rapists are still on the loose; the police will have alerted the various immigrant communities for help on finding witnesses.

 

Det Inspector Capaldi, of Strathclyde Police, said: "The young woman has understandably been left utterly traumatised by this horrific incident. We will use every investigative tool at our disposal to find the person responsible.

 

"We know that two men came to the aid of the woman and alerted emergency services. I would appeal directly to these two men to come forward as they may hold crucial information which could assist our enquiries.”

 

Rape is either more in the headlines or on the rise. At the recent middle class ‘hippy’ musical festival Latitude they had two rapes, one described as a ‘gang rape’. And a rape was reported at T in the Park music festival this year.

 

I am not naïve enough to believe that rape will stop. We still associate rape with militant rebels in third world countries mass raping innocent women yet, in my home town, young women are now frightened to walk home after dark because a group of men are pouncing on females in the busiest streets.

 

Glasgow is a safe friendly place at the best of times, but I urge any young women not to walk through the grid of tall buildings alone in the city centre late at night alone. It sounds like a knee-jerk terrifying reaction and one that inhibits women from enjoying their life but, until this spate of random street rapes is over, I just want women to be safe.