Report Summary
This report provides members of the Policing Performance Committee with an overview of an overview of the strategies and collaborative initiatives pertinent to Rape and Sexual Crime. It places particular emphasis on statistical data and projects that adopt a victim-centred approach.
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Meeting
The publication discussed was referenced in the meeting below
Policing Performance Committee - 19 March 2025
Date : 19 March 2025
Location : online
Key Insights - New Trends
STEALTHING
Within the Scottish Crime Recording Standards and Counting Rules April 2023, information was circulated that if a person reports the circumstances that amount to “Stealthing”, this should be recorded as Rape (Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act, 2009, Section 1).
Stealthing is defined as - Non-consensual condom removal and is the practice of a person covertly removing or damaging a condom during sexual intercourse, when their sex partner has only consented to condom-protected sex.
SCD NPP has effectively integrated changes within the National Crime Management framework to ascertain the extent of the issue throughout Scotland and to systematically document relevant data.
In May 2023 a 35-year-old male was found guilty of 19 charges against 9 women including stealthing, violence, sexual assault, threats and abuse and sentenced to 16 years in custody. This landmark case was Scotland’s first conviction for Stealthing, which attracted national media attention.
Reports of stealthing may be expected to rise in the future and it is suspected that there is a lack of knowledge that this is rape. In December 2024, celebrity Megan Barton-Hanson (Love Island contestant) publicly disclosed her experience as a victim of stealthing and previously being unaware that it constituted a criminal offence.
Additionally, the feature of stealthing in a prominent BBC drama (I May Destroy You) has significantly contributed to raising public awareness on the issue. Several external organisations, collaborating with SCD NPP, are actively engaged in promoting awareness of stealthing within university and college settings, while also disseminating information about recent revisions to crime recording procedures implemented by Police Scotland. These modifications have correlated with a significant increase in the number of officially documented cases of “Stealthing”.
