A new police campaign encouraging young men to “have a quiet word with a mate” if they see them acting inappropriately towards women has been launched.

The Police Scotland ThatGuy campaign, which will run for six weeks across social media channels and through a podcast series, comes amidst a rise in the number of sexual offences being reported to officers.

The force said they received nearly 7,600 reports of sexual crimes between April 1 and the end of September, a 3.2% increase compared with the same period the year before.

This figure includes 1,400 reported rapes, a rise of 19.5% on the same period the year before.

Some 1,829 of the reported offences, including 550 of the rapes, were alleged to have happened more than a year ago, with the remainder relating to the last 12 months.

Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) Steve Johnson, lead for major crime and public protection at Police Scotland, said: “My hope is that increased reporting indicates increased confidence in victims coming forward, as we work with partners, to improve our response to reports of sexual crimes, which have a devastating impact on victims.

“Women and girls should be able to live their lives free from all forms of violence, abuse, harassment and exploitation.

“We want to prevent sexual crime by tackling behaviours that demean, minimise and brutalise women.

“Prevention sits with all of us but men need to take responsibility for their behaviour and stop sexual offending before it starts.”

The latest ThatGuy campaign is aimed at men aged between 18-35, and is designed to encourage them to reflect on their behaviour towards women, as well as that of friends and relatives.

Mr Johnson continued: “As a father, I hope I’ve brought my sons up to respect women and to not be that guy who stands by and says nothing when a mate acts in an abusive way or doesn’t take no for an answer.

“No men want the women in their lives to be a victim of sexual offending, just as we don’t want a friend to end up on the register or in prison for sexual crimes.

“All men need to consider the impact of their behaviour on women but equally have a quiet word with a mate to prevent them doing something they really will regret.”

The ThatGuy podcast is hosted by writer and broadcaster Alistair Heather, who appeared in the 2022 ThatGuy video advert.

It features five episodes of frank conversations about the attitudes and behaviours that put women at risk of sexual violence, and men at risk of offending.

It will see Mr Heather exploring topics like football, social media and relationships to learn how men can make a positive difference by speaking up and stepping in.