THE number of victims of sexual violence seeking help from a rape support group has leapt by almost 50% in a year.

Rape Crisis Scotland (RCS) said it received 3957 contacts from people looking for support and information during 2012/13, compared to 2712 in the previous year.

That 45.9% increase has been attributed to several factors, including the introduction of their email support service which received and responded to 441 emails last year.

It came after the Evening Times revealed that the number of reported sex crimes in Glasgow have risen by almost a third in the past six years.

Police recorded 1109 indecent and sexual assaults last year - an increase of 31.5% since 2006/07 when 843 were recorded and a rise of almost 5% from 2011/12.

RCS helpline manager and national coordinator Sandie Barton said the organisation had expanded the ways survivors of sex crime could get in touch with them in a bid to make the service more inclusive.

She said: "It's an indication of how busy we are.

"Email is a growing part of our service and it's often more suitable for people to email than phone.

"Sometimes it's used by people who have been raped abroad and they need that information there and then.

"Maybe they're not ready to phone and a few emails are passed between the survivor and one of our workers and then they visit one of our centres or phone.

"We've also widened access to different groups of survivors and we are continuing to work on that."

RCS began working with Deaf Connections and Wise Women to improve access for people with hearing difficulties.

In September last year they launched a Deaf Access Service which is held every Tuesday afternoon offering text support via an online British Sign Language interpreter through Deaf Connections' Sign on Screen service.

Eileen Maitland, information and resource worker for RCS, said: "Anybody can experience sexual violence. There's still a public perception on who is it that gets raped but anyone can experience it."

The charity said it had noticed a rise in the number of people who had experienced historical sexual abuse getting in touch.

Officers in Glasgow's divisional rape investigation unit had noticed a similar trend as reported last week.

It is believed high-profile investigations, such as that against Jimmy Savile and former presenter Stuart Hall, has helped victims to finally speak out.

Ms Barton said: "I think there were people revisiting historical events although I don't know if it would have a massive impact on the figures.

"It definitely was something that came up and we noticed.

"It could be something that happened a long time ago and they've only got the strength years later to do something about it."

Ms Maitland added: "We got quite a lot of calls from women who didn't think it was rape because they were married - but they were now able to identify what was happening.

"They thought that was part of the deal of being married."

The group think informed education and a shift in attitudes towards women would lessen sex crime.

Sheena Campbell, business manager with RCS, said: "It's a major issue - public attitudes are a real concern.

"There has been improvements in recent years but a lot more needs to be done."

rachel.loxton@eveningtimes.co.uk