THE number of schoolgirls being counselled for sex attacks is expected to more than double in Glasgow this year, say charity leaders.

Rape Crisis said it was experiencing increased demand for a dedicated support service for girls aged 13-17.

And the charity said its work in city schools had also shown many teenage girls and boys were still unclear about the laws around rape.

A support worker said she was shocked when a female pupil described rape under the influence of alcohol as "surprise" sex.

Staff said they were also seeing more cases of girls being sexually harassed by boys at school and pressured to send explicit pictures by text.

One pupil admitted she had been sent about 65 text messages by a boy in one evening before she "gave in" and sent the picture.

Support worker Paula Dunn, 35, said: "A lot of young people are unsure about what rape and sexual assault is and the legalities around it.

"One of the worst things I heard was from a young girl in the classroom when we were talking about various aspects of rape.

"She said, 'When you are at a party and a girl wakes up after she has had something to drink and there is a boy on top of her that is not rape. It's a surprise.'

"We still get young people in schools saying, "But she was drunk".

"A lot of the feedback is about the level of coercion and pressure girls are experiencing, right down to being touched in the school corridor. Their attitude is, "That's just what it's like for girls" I have heard that quite a few times.

"They just shrug their shoulders when I ask if they thought about telling a teacher.

"One girl had said she had been asked by a boy to send an explicit picture.

"She said no. After about the 65th text she sent the photograph. This girl was under 16.

"I think young women's attitudes are, "That's just the way it is."

Earlier this month the charity revealed the number of women needing counselling for sex attacks had increased 63%.

It has been forced to drop some of its preventative work in schools and youth groups to focus on support sessions because of the number of girls coming forward.

It has also had to turn down work in neighbouring local authorities because of a recent drop in funding.

Paula is the only worker employed to raise awareness about sexual violence in schools.

From April 1 last year to March 31 the charity supported 34 girls with about 400 different counselling sessions.

It had already referred eight girls for counselling in the first six weeks of this financial year.

Centre manager Isabelle Kerr said: "Given that we have eight young women in the first six weeks of this year, it looks like we could have more than double the numbers on year one.

"Also, the young women we see are just the tip of the iceberg.

"This is a tiny percentage of the young women out there who are experiencing sexual violence but who don't find their way to support services."

Ms Kerr said there was "no doubt" an increase in availability of pornography, for example on mobile phones, was having a negative impact on the behaviour of teenage boys towards girls.

She said: "One of the biggest problems is how quickly they become desensitised to violent images. Sexual violence has become minimised.

"We are talking about entry level pornography, where young people can access it free.

"There has been a recognition that the big issue for young people is sexual violence from their peers, but also the coercion, the harassment, is certainly much higher than it ever has been before.

"The message we are getting is, 'If you go on and on about it you will wear them down'. That still very much exists.

During the school workshops Paula encourages pupils to question the images and ideas presented to them in pop culture and magazines.

She said: "In the 'lads mags', there are articles that say, 'Pick the drunkest girl ... that's who to go home with.' That's the messages being given out.

"We try to educate young people about sexual violence, their rights and their alternatives to the messages they are being bombarded with in the media.

"If a girl is wearing a short skirt and a low cut top, pupils will say, "She wants to have sex."

"We are still challenging those perceptions."

caroline.wilson@ eveningtimes.co.uk