Scottish Daily Express

Police Scotland won't disclose details of sex crimes in swimming pools

JK Rowling and Sharron Davies are among those warning about the safety of women and girls in mixed-sex changing rooms – but crime figures in Scot...

JK Rowling has alerted her 14 million followers on social media to the alarming fact that women and girls in unisex changing rooms are being targeted by sexual predators across England and Wales. An investigation by the Women's Rights Network discovered at least 80 sexual assaults, 16 rapes and 65 incidents of voyeurism which were recorded in swimming pools and leisure centres in 2023. But the Express can reveal that Police Scotland refused to disclose details of sex crimes in similar settings north of the Border, citing the cost of trawling through their online files. Under the Freedom of Information Scotland Act, the maximum cost of complying with a request is £600. Police Scotland was asked for a breakdown of sexual crimes at swimming pools in each year from 2020 to 2025. An official with the single force replied: "Unfortunately, I estimate that it would cost well in excess of the current FOI cost threshold of £600 to process your request. I am therefore refusing to provide the information sought in terms of section 12(1) of the Act - Excessive Cost of Compliance. "By way of explanation, we cannot search by locus as such each sexual crime report would have to be manually assessed for relevance to swimming pools and to crime type." Another attempt to ascertain the number of voyeurism offences in swimming pools or leisure centres was knocked back because the request used a Home Office crime code – which do not apply in Scotland, due to the separate legal system. Despite this lack of co-operation, the WRN has uncovered multiple examples of sex crimes in mixed-sex 'village-style' changing rooms all over Scotland by scouring online reports of convictions. They include: October 2013: Man tried to film a woman changing her clothes at the DG One leisure complex in Dumfries. November 2013: Swimming instructor convicted of secretly filming women in schools and leisure centres across eastern Scotland. June 2017: Lanark swimming pool lifeguard who tried to take a photo of a woman drying herself in a cubicle escaped a jail sentence. June 2019: Naked woman caught pervert spying on her at Carnegie Leisure Centre in Dunfermline. May 2025: Paisley man appeared in court charged with committing voyeurism offences at a Greenock swimming pool.

@Maud Gonner 🇮🇪 Can you access this?

Miann na Maighdinn-mara/Mermaid Tales - Series 2: Episode 4 - BBC iPlayer

Tha Kate Nicleòid, maighdeann-mhara Innse Gall, gar toirt air turas gu cuid de na ceàrnaidhean àlainn nach eil cho aithnichte sna h-Eileanan an Iar agus bidh i a’ coinneachadh ri seanchaidhean le sgeulachdan iongantach mu na h-àiteachan air a bheil i gu math dèidheil, os cionn agus fon uisge. Anns a’ cheathramh prògram, tha Kate a’ dèanamh air Beàrnaraigh na Hearadh agus a’ tachairt ri muinntir an àite, nam measg, Dòmhnall MacIllEathain a tha ag innse dhi mu dhòigh-beatha an àite sna làithean a dh’fhalbh, agus mu dheidhinn am fuamhaire ainmeil, Aonghas Mòr MacAsgaill, a rinn beòshlaint le cho àrd ’s a bha e – seachd troighean ’s naoi òirleach! Tha i a’ cluinntinn sgeulachdan mu bheatha Ruairidh Sheathaich agus e na bhalach òg a’ fàs suas ann am Beàrnaraigh ’s a’ dol do dh’ àrd-sgoil sna Hearadh, am measg seanchas inntinneach mu chruth-tìre an eilein. Tha i cuideachd a’ dèanamh oidhirp snàmh cuide ri na ròin agus bidh i ann an caidheag air a’ mhuir mu thimcheall An Tràigh Iar – an tràigh eireachdail a chaidh ainmeachadh bho chionn ghoirid mar an tràigh as bòidhche anns an Roinn Eòrpa. Kate Macleod, The Hebridean Mermaid, takes us on a journey to some of the hidden gems of the Hebrides, meeting tradition bearers with remarkable stories about the places she loves to visit the most, above and below the water. Kate makes her way to Berneray and meets locals such as Donald MacLean, who explains what life was like there in days gone by. He shares the story of Angus MacAskill, who made a living from his giant height - all seven foot, nine inches of him! Roddy Shaw shares his story of growing up on Berneray and attending high school in Harris, as well as some interesting folklore about the landscape of the island. Kate attempts to swim with seals and also kayaks around the shores of the stunning West Beach, which was recently named the most beautiful beach in Europe.

I am witness to the strength of working women in Afghanistan | Aeon Essays

I am banned from working now, but as I look back on my long, challenging career in Afghanistan I feel hope for the future

June 1992. Until that moment, I would not have left my job if it cost me my life. Despite the constant bombings and the daily hailstorm of bullets and rockets, I always showed up at work. But I had little choice. It started like this: it was the early days of the mujahideen government. I was preparing to record a show at the studios of the National Radio and Television of Afghanistan (RTA), papers spread in my hands, when the new head of television, who had links to the mujahideen, walked in, saw me, and quickly looked away, muttering under his breath in disgust. He had a quiet word with the producer before leaving the studio. When I asked why the TV director had reacted that way, the producer told me that the director opposed women working and that, by refusing to look at me, he’d shielded himself from sin. That day I carried a strange feeling home. How could I continue to work with people who looked upon women with such loathing? There’s a Persian proverb: The pride of the poor is the death of the poor. Although I desperately needed my job, I was so furious I could think of nothing except resigning. I had no idea who I would become without work and the freedom it gave me, a freedom I wanted all women to enjoy. But it hardly mattered, since very soon after I quit, most of the female employees at the television station were fired. I would never have imagined then that, 30 years later, the situation for women in Afghanistan would be far worse. Now, as I approach the end of my working life, amid the most extreme and far-reaching oppression of women I have yet witnessed in this country, I am overwhelmed by a sense of déjà vu, as if the past is doomed to repeat itself. Back in 1992, the mujahideen also announced that women were not allowed to leave their homes without wearing headscarves and completely covering their bodies. Until then, many educated and working women dressed in European clothing – skirts, blazers, stockings, blouses, and trousers. Now they had to cover themselves from head to toe. The regime also opposed women working or, indeed, undertaking any kind of activity outside of the house and continue to work. It’s been four years since the Taliban returned to power. In this time, they’ve issued numerous decrees. Afghan girls have been banned from education. Women’s bathhouses have been closed. Women are not allowed in parks, or to travel without a mahram, or male relative as a guardian, and they’ve been banned from taking part in sports. Women are no longer able to obtain a driving licence. Their work is limited primarily to healthcare and primary education, and they must cover their entire bodies in black veils or blue chadoris.