250 sex abuse ‘victims’ at St Andrews Uni
ALMOST 250 former or current students of Scotland’s oldest university have come forward claiming to be victims of sex attacks.
Last month, around 100 students or graduates said they had been raped or assaulted while at St Andrews University.
Their harrowing testimonies sparked a university investigation, with officials promising they would support all alleged victims.
Now the Scottish Mail on Sunday can reveal that in the past month, a further 150 students have shared their horrific tales of abuse at the Fife campus.
Last night, Police Scotland urged young men and women to report the perpetrators, saying ‘tackling sexual crime is a priority’.
In contrast, despite the number of complaints more than doubling since mid-July, the students claim they have not received adequate support from the university.
The claims appear on an Instagram page called St Andrews Survivors, set up by nine current or former students who wanted to offer a forum for alleged victims.
Following posts on the online platform, a US-style fraternity on the campus, Alpha Epsilon Pi, suspended some of its members amid claims that rapes and sex assaults happened at its society events.
Last night, one of the page’s administrators confirmed that since starting the account on July 2, 242 students have now shared their ordeals. One woman said that after a night out in the student union bar, she woke up to find evinow dence that she had been raped and her bed was covered in blood.
When the shocking testimonies were first raised with the university last month, its proctor Clare Peddie – who deals with allegations of misconduct – said what she had read was ‘unacceptable’ and promised support was available. But whistleblowers have been left unimpressed by the university’s response to the page, which has more than 5,700 followers. They accused St Andrews of failing to prevent abuse and violence and now want a public apology.
One page administrator claimed they were asked to sign agreements that meant they could not share what was said, even in any future legal proceedings, adding: ‘We started to realise what ‘‘confidentiality’’ truly meant.’
St Andrews University has ‘categorically’ denied asking the survivors to ‘sign a confidentiality agreement’ or ‘anything at all’.
A spokeswoman said: ‘Neither the university nor the police have received any actionable report, all we have are anonymous claims on social media. We continue to appeal to those who have posted allegations on Instagram to come forward so that these claims can be properly investigated.’
Detective Chief Superintendent Sam McCluskey, head of public protection for Police Scotland, said that she would ‘encourage anyone wishing to report any kind of sexual offence to call us on 101 or 999 in an emergency’.
She added: ‘Tackling sexual crime is a priority.’
100 ‘SEX ATTACKS’ PROBED AT TOP SCOTS UNI HEADLINES: Our report last month