§ Mr. LlwydTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many cases of male rape were reported in Scotland in(a) 1985 and (b) 1995; and if he will make a statement. [27013]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe information is not available in the form requested. The term "male rape" is not used in Scots law. The act which that term describes, namely non-consensual anal intercourse with a man, can be prosecuted in Scotland either as the common law crime of sodomy or as a statutory offence under section 13 of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995, that is, commission of a homosexual act other than in private or without the consent of both parties or with a person under the age of 18.
It is not possible to identify within the statistics for the statutory offence those which would equate with the term "male rape". Figures for the number of allegations of the common law offence of sodomy reported to the police are not available, but figures for the number of prosecutions are available from 1988 onwards. In 1988 there were 11 such prosecutions and in 1994, the latest year for which such figures are available, there were 15 prosecutions.