A series of sexual assaults on men in the West End of Glasgow has raised concerns about student safety.

Two attacks took place on the evening of Sunday 13th September. In the first a 22-year-old man was accosted at around 11:30pm while walking along Queen Margaret Drive not far from Murano Street Student Village. Three men dragged him to an area of grass next to the River Kelvin before taking turns to sexually assault him. Several hours later a 25-year-old man was set upon in Belmont Street, just off Great Western Road, and was seriously sexually and physically assaulted before being left semi-conscious. Both men were taken to hospital for treatment.

The latest attacks come after a similar incident in July when a 25-year-old man suffered an attempted sexual assault, also in Belmont Street. Police believe the same gang of men to be responsible for all three incidents. Detective Inspector John Weir, head of the investigation, appealed for any information or for anyone who had suffered a similar attack to come forward. He stated “these were particularly violent and distressing attacks on three men who were returning home after nights out. Although these types of attacks are rare, they are nevertheless traumatic for the victims who did nothing to provoke the suspects.” One suspect was described as of African/Caribbean appearance, of medium build and 6ft in height; another was of mixed race appearance, also of medium build and 5ft 7in in height; the third was only described as of medium build.

A memo was sent by Aidan Warner, the SRC’s Vice President Welfare and Equal Opportunities, to the Accommodation Office, and to the two unions, then forwarded to fresher’s week helpers and Murano Street staff, alerting them to the attacks. Warner plans to take further action by putting up posters informing students of the situation and giving details of the SRC’s minibus service, designed to improve student safety. However, he admitted that the fact the buses only run until 10:30pm was inadequate and something the SRC would like to change. Although he claimed a lack of finances had so far prevented them from doing so.

An article in The Herald relating to the attacks cited a senior Glasgow University law lecturer, Clare Connelly, as expressing concern that Scots Law currently does not allow offenders to be tried for male rape. The crime is tried as ‘sodomy’, which, Miss Connelly asserts, is a term associated with gay men and therefore makes heterosexual victims of rape less likely to report the crime to the police. Male rape was made a crime in England and Wales in 1994. A press officer for the Scottish Executive Justice Department, Margo McIver, stated that the SE had no plans to seek a change in the law and had conducted no research into the matter.

The Guardian has further discovered that the Rape Crisis Network Scotland, which receives £80,000 a year in funding from the SE, does not provide any treatment or services for men. Their website states that “our centres are woman only and work from a feminist perspective”. A phone operative from Rape Crisis admitted that facilities for male victims of sexual abuse or assault were “fairly patchy” and “under-funded” and that both male and female rape victims in Scotland were “entitled to better services”. There are some centres for male victims in Scotland but they only receive money from their local authority and thus vary widely in quality. Responding to this McIver said that the SE only funds initiatives that come to them for money, they do not actively seek to establish them and are therefore not responsible for the lack of services available.

Meanwhile male students are advised to be wary of walking alone at night in the West End as police continue their search for the perpetrators. Victims of similar attacks or anyone who recognises the description of the suspects can contact the CID at Maryhill on 0141 532 3786 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.