Royal society fellows

A LEADING playwright, a mathematician and a philosopher from St Andrews University have been elected fellows by the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Zinnie Harris, of the School of English, is arguably Scotland’s foremost playwright, screenwriter and theatre director.

Leading academics Professor Jessica Brown, of the School of Philosophical, Anthropological and Film Studies, and Professor Peter Cameron, of t he School of Mathematics and Statistics, were also elected alongside former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and US philanthropist and former pianist Carol Colborn Grigor, who became honorary fellows.

The society has welcomed 66 new fellows.

President Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell said: “Each year we welcome a selection of nominated extraordinary individuals into the fellowship and this year is no exception.

“The diverse range of achievements of these individuals will be an asset to the RSE.”

After a successful pilot scheme, the National Advocacy Project has been given a funding boost.

The project supports victims throughout the criminal justice process and aims to improve reporting of offences and lead to more convictions. Launched by Rape Crisis Scotland in 2016, the Scottish Government has now provided £1.7million for the scheme to be rolled out nationwide.

Sinead Daly, manager of Dundee’s Women’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre, said the charity has been “overwhelmed” with the demand from women seeking assistance — and the funding boost means they can now hire an extra support worker.

She said: “We’ve got an extra worker now who’s going to be starting on April 1 and we’re absolutely delighted with the extension. We’ve supported more than 90 women in Dundee in the last year and that’s without even really advertising or promoting it.

“We’ve really been overwhelmed with the demand. The feedback we’ve had from women is that it’s really helped their experiences and it basically means that we can act as the liaison with the police and keep them updated with what’s happening.”

A report on the investigation and prosecution of sexual crimes criticised the procedures of the Crown Office for being bureaucratic and failing to communicate well enough with alleged victims.

The Tele told last month how a third of reported rapes in Tayside have gone unsolved in the last three years.

More than 40% of rape allegations in Dundee are of a historical nature, higher than the Scottish average.

Sinead said: “Not every victim will want to report something that’s happened to them straight away because it’s so traumatic.

A SCHEME to help victims of rape in Dundee is to be extended throughout the city.