A shocking new survey has shown that around three in five women have experienced sexual harassment or assault in Scotland, and that over two thirds of women (68 per cent) don't feel safe walking alone after dark.
The results of the ScotPulse survey come amid increasing concern and discussion around women’s safety in the UK following the death of Sarah Everard in south-west London.
Of the women who said they had been harassed or assaulted, 46% said the incidents had taken place inside hospitality venues. Within the 18-34 year old demographic, this number rose to 72%.
Two in five (43%) of the women who had been harassed or assaulted said it had happened on the street, while 35% said the incidents had occurred in the workplace.
The survey sample included 1,055 Scottish adults over the age of 18; 60 per cent of whom were women. Of the men that were surveyed, six in ten (59%) said they don’t think it’s safe for women to walk alone at night.
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However, less than half of them (47%) said they believe men fully appreciate the fears some women have around safety. Even less women (29%) believe men understand their concerns.
The results of the poll will be explored in a live panel discussion on Thursday’s Scotland Tonight on STV. The programme will also include a report focused on the experiences of several women who attended vigils for Sarah Everard in Glasgow last weekend.
One of them, Mhairi, tells Scotland Tonight: “Sarah's story touched me, as it has all these other people.
"I’ve been in Glasgow since 1977. When I first moved here, I was aware of the harassment you'd get as a young woman and it’s still happening now all these years later.
“Often people ask why you don’t go to the police. It's below the level that you feel you can report, because you can't say a man looked at you in a hostile manner or wouldn't get out of the way for you on the pavement.
"These are everyday things that you just learn to live with. Everybody knows it's not all men, but there's still this attitude on certain men that women are fair game."
Another woman, Becky, adds: “It's being groped, it's being harassed in clubs countless times, being grabbed, being started at, people touching you inappropriately without your consent. It happens so often.
“I think, especially when I was younger and before people were really talking about it, I think you’d just say: ‘That's just a normal night out. I got grabbed, someone put their hand up my skirt. That just happens every time you go out.’
"I think that now people are beginning to speak up, hopefully people are going to listen and we won't have to feel that way any more.”
Scotland Tonight is live on STV at 7:30pm on Thursday 18 March and available on STV Player.
