Convictions for rape and domestic abuse are at an all time high, according to the latest statistics published by the Scottish Government.
Figures for 2023/24 were published on Tuesday, and while the number of people prosecuted in Scottish courts was less than 2022/23, prosecutions for more serious offences increased.
A total of 73,224 people in 2023/24 were ‘proceeded against’ in court, a decrease of 7% from 2022/23 (79,104 people).
63,486 people were convicted of at least one of the charges against them.
Convictions for non-sexual crimes of violence rose by 4%, while convictions for sexual crimes increased by 12%.
Likewise, the number of convictions for rape and attempted rape, increased from 186 in 2023/23 to 221 in 2023/24, a rise of 19%.
According to Scotland's Chief Statistician, that is a ‘a new all-time high amongst comparable records’, which began in 1989/1990.
Meanwhile, domestic abuse convictions also reached an ‘all-time high’, rising 19% from 756 in 2022/23 to 897 in 2023-24.
And more people were sent to prison, with convictions resulting in a custodial sentence increasing from 8,930 in 2022-23 to 10,094.
The average length of a prison sentence was 393 days, an increase of 7 from 2023/23, when it was 386 days.
The figures come as Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain has warned of disruption over a recent Supreme Court ruling which found that ‘rape shield’ laws designed to protect victims in court were being applied in a way that was "too restrictive".
Section 274 and 275 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 protect complainers in sexual offence trials by regulating, and often excluding, evidence of their sexual history or character.
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Section 274 establishes the general rule that such evidence is inadmissible, while Section 275 allows for exceptions in specific circumstances.
The Herald reported earlier on Tuesday that Bain told MSPs that Scottish courts “are now under a duty to take a more flexible and nuanced approach to applications under section 275, including those relating to sexual-history evidence, bad-character evidence, and any other evidence bearing on the complainer’s credibility and reliability.”
The Lord Advocate also noted that an influx of appeals could be lodged by people convicted of rape and other sex offences from 2013.
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