100 ‘SEX ATTACKS’ PROBED AT TOP SCOTS UNI
Students suspended at Prince William’s old university amid investigation into ‘devastating’ rape and assault claims
ONE of Scotland’s top universities is at the centre of a sex attack scandal after more than 100 students and graduates claimed to have been raped or assaulted.
Twenty former and current students said they had been raped while at the prestigious institution, attended by Prince William. As an investigation into the ‘devastating’ allegations at the University of St Andrews got under way last night, a US-style fraternity on the campus suspended some of its members amid claims that rapes and sex assaults happened at its society events.
Police Scotland is working with the university and has urged anyone who claims to have been attacked to contact authorities. Allegations of sex attacks emerged after a group of
whistleblowers used social media to urge victims of abuse to come forward. Within days, hundreds of current and former students shared harrowing accounts of ordeals at the hands of male peers on the Fife campus.
Many of the alleged victims felt that the university had failed to adequately deal with their complaints.
One told how she woke up after a night out to find a male student raping her.
Another said that she had confided in a male friend outside the university’s union about a previous sexual assault, but he took her home and assaulted her as well. She said: ‘I can’t believe anyone could do this.’
St Andrews – where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met and fell in love – said it was taking the claims ‘seriously’ and that the behaviour reported is ‘unacceptable’.
A statement uploaded to the Facebook page of the Alpha Epsilon Pi St Andrews fraternity on July 3 said: ‘Earlier today, Alpha Epsilon Pi St Andrews was made aware of allegations of sexual assault, harassment and rape against multiple members of our fraternity, including incidents at chapter events. We find the contents of these allegations abhorrent and are taking them extremely seriously.’
It added that it ‘immediately suspended members who acknowledged any role in the alleged incidents’ and promised to work with the police, the university and any victims.
Allegations about attacks have been made by current and former students. Other people who are not attached to the university say they have been abused by students. The claims appeared on an Instagram page called St Andrews Survivors, set up by a group of nine current or former students who wanted to offer alleged victims the chance to be heard.
They said in a post: ‘Our goal is to expose the reality of sexual abuse at our university as well as empower survivors to share their stories anonymously and safely.’
So far they have had more than 100 submissions from alleged victims, which include 20 allegations of rapes, ten of sexual assault, two of violent assault, two sexual coercion attempts, and one account of alleged domestic violence.
Last night, one of the page administrators said that it was necessary to highlight ‘endemic’ sexual abuse at universities.
They said: ‘We have received over 100 submissions and are preparing to begin reposting them soon. We had 110 on the anonymous Google form and more from individuals by other means. Twenty-one took place in part at the university union and 12 in part at a university hall.
‘We hope to shed light upon what is an endemic problem. The troubles of a widespread drinking and lad culture, alongside a shame-shrouded attitude towards sexual assault, has led to the silencing of so many victims, female, male and non-binary. The purpose of the account was to create a space for survivors to share their stories, anonymously, without judgment, guilt, or threat.’
Last night, Fiona Drouet, founder and chief executive of Emilytest, a Scottish charity tackling genderbased violence in education, said attitudes needed to change so that men do not see having sex with women as their ‘right’.
Mrs Drouet, whose daughter Emily, an 18-year-old Aberdeen University student, took her own life after being abused by her boyfriend Angus Milligan, said: ‘Sadly, I am not surprised or shocked that this behaviour is happening.
‘Until attitudes change, no matter how many policies are in place, then women and girls will continue to be subjected to rape and other abuse at the hands of entitled men.’
According to the data gathered by the St Andrews Survivors team, 15 entries mention a ‘dissatisfaction with the university’s response’.
Last week, the University Proctor, Claire Peddie – who deals with student misconduct – confirmed she was working with the group.
She shared a post to the Instagram page, writing: ‘The experiences shared by St Andrews Survivors are unacceptable and we do not underestimate their effects.
‘The university wants St Andrews Survivors to know that these testimonies are taken seriously and that support is available.’
The university also said it was working to challenge gender-based violence across the campus and was working with Rape Crisis Scotland to train staff.
The current allegations are not the first sex scandal to engulf the historic university.
In her posthumous memoir published this year, Motherwell: A Girlhood, the late newspaper columnist Deborah Orr said she was gang-raped while a student at St Andrews in the 1980s. In 2018, a St Andrews student was allegedly gang-raped at a charity fashion show. The woman, 23, said the attack took place at the annual Don’t Walk Fashion Show in February.
Kate Middleton took to the catwalk as a model in the event in 2002 and famously caught the eye of the young Prince William.
The complainant reportedly claimed she was forced into a portable toilet ‘like a dead weight’, raped by at least two men and assaulted by two others. She said she was too drunk to consent. Last night, a spokesman for St Andrews University said: ‘The university’s primary concern is to ensure survivors know that we are ready and willing to support their decisions and take action, facilitate police reporting, and provide ongoing support accordingly. The university will always act when incidents are formally reported.’
A Police Scotland spokesman said it was aware of the online posts and was working with the university to find out more, although the force could not investigate any alleged crimes as they had not received any official reports of wrongdoing.
Yvonne Stenhouse, Community Inspector for North-East Fife, said: ‘We are aware of these online reports. We are committed to bringing sexual offenders before the courts and treat all reports of sexual crime with the utmost seriousness.’