Aeroplane. Photograph by Hussein Abdallah
The number of British people raped or sexually assaulted whilst abroad increased last year according to a recent Foreign Office report [PDF].
The report shows that both the number of rapes (138) and the number of sexual assaults (172) were the highest figures in the last five years, with Spain, Turkey, and Egypt the locations with the most reported cases. The number in Spain may be due to the large number of British nationals living in the country, with about 800,000 Britons estimated to live there. Both Egypt and Turkey have seen mass protests in the last couple of years, with sexual assault a common complaint during these demonstrations.
The report also shows a notable decline in the number of arrests of British people abroad both for drugs and other offences. The number of drug arrests fell nearly 20% from the previous year, down to 653, whilst the number of arrests in total fell by nearly 10% to 5,435.
