Hansard

I thank Pauline McNeill for bringing this issue to the Parliament and I congratulate her on securing the debate and on the quality of the information that she has brought to it. It has been more than a year since I secured my members' business debate on the rights of rape victims and it is heartening to know that the work of the Parliament is continuing in this area.

Drug-assisted rape is the fastest-increasing crime against women. It is estimated that, to date, 2,000 women have been the victims of sexual assault after having been drugged. The crime is hugely distressing for the victim and is exacerbated by the fact that many cannot clearly remember the events that occurred.

Drug rape is a high-profile crime. The fact that drugs are used to aid the assault adds to the media interest, of which there is much. As a result, much of the discussion about drug-assisted sexual assault concentrates on the drug, implying that it is the drug that is evil, rather than the men. However, the men are the ones who are doing the raping; the drug is just the form of disarmament. Drug rape is simply rape carried out with the aid of drugs; it is no different from rape that is carried out with the aid of alcohol, the threat of violence or the use of force.

We must change attitudes towards rape. When that crime is committed, we must ensure that justice is done. Pauline McNeill's debate will add to the strength of the work that is being done on the matter; it will keep the issue alive and ensure that it has a high profile.

Rape is rape, no matter how it is carried out. If we start to concentrate solely on the methods that are used to carry it out, divided we will fall. Last week, Lord Abernethy put back by light years the work of groups such as Rape Crisis, Women's Aid and Zero Tolerance and their campaigns to end violence against women. To suggest that physical force or the threat of force must be used before an act can constitute rape is an insult. In the case concerned, it must have been even more horrendous for the victim to hear that, even though she had said no many times, no was not enough.

When the judiciary makes such statements, what message is sent out to society? Zero Tolerance has shown that 50 per cent of young people feel that there are situations in which it is acceptable to rape a woman. One in 10 boys have said that they would rape a woman if they thought that they could get away with it.

According to Lord Abernethy's ruling, if a woman were drugged, she could be not only raped, but gang raped, yet if there were no physical signs of damage, those acts would not constitute rape. That is unacceptable. I am grateful to Pauline McNeill for initiating the debate. The fact that we are having it this week will help us to deal with that judgment.