Streets of fear
Hundreds more women tell of being abused in city
Hundreds more women have complained about sexual abuse and harassment on the streets of Scotland’s biggest city.
Nearly 500 have submitted disturbing testimonies about Glasgow, where they’ve faced terror, alarm and sexual predators.
It’s prompted anger that not enough is being done to tackle abuse from men. And it comes at a time of renewed concern about the safety of women after the murders of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa in London while they walked alone.
The reports about Glasgow have been made to an online interactive map launched in December in a bid to improve safety in its streets and parks.
The poll, which runs until March 1, highlights hundreds of harrowing experiences in hotspots across the city.
One woman said she was “repeatedly approached by lone men outside Central Station and made to feel uncomfortable/ threatened” but was unable to avoid the area as it’s her travel route.
A young mum told of her ordeal near Queensborough Gardens, in the city’s west end, saying: “I was assaulted by a man loitering while I was with my baby.”
One described being followed home after ventur i n g i nto Sauchiehall Street:
“A guy star ted tailing me. He tried to get in the front door but I said my boyfriend was in and he fled.”
Scottish Labour’s Pauline McNeill said: “We have a responsibility to use all powers at our disposal to tackle this problem and build a safer, more inclusive society.”
Dawn Fyfe, of community group Wise Women, which helped organise the poll, stressed that women should “not have to change their journey, dress or lifestyle due to male harassment and abuse”.
The safety survey is the latest in a plan involving the Glasgow Violence Against Women Partnership. Glasgow City Council said: “The responsibility lies with men who use violence and abuse – it is their behaviour that needs to change.”
A survey by A-Plan insurance showed Glasgow has reported the most sexual crimes compared to any other local authority area at 1787 in total between 2020-21.
Detective Chief Superintendent Sam Faulds said: “We are developing our strategy to tackle v iolenc e a ga ins t women. But this is about cultural change, challenging male entitle
ment and violence.”