CONTROVERSIAL American pick-up artist and rape advocate Roosh V has organised meetings in Edinburgh and Glasgow for next Saturday.

Only heterosexual men will be allowed to attend the meetings, and any women attempting to come along will be filmed with footage sent to his worldwide “anti-feminist” network who will then “exact furious retribution”.

At 8pm next Saturday supporters of the militant misogynist will turn up at Glasgow’s George Square and Edinburgh’s Grassmarket to meet other men before heading to another, secret location.

It’s part of an international meet-up taking place in 40 countries. On the website advertising the event, Roosh V writes that it is time for his supporters to “come out of the shadows and not have to hide behind a computer screen for fear of retaliation”.

Roosh V, whose real name is Daryush Valizadeh, has self-published 15 books he claims advise men on how to “pick up women”, but which feature racial stereotypes and disturbing tales of how he has bullied and groomed drunk and young women into sleeping with him.

His belief that feminism has made men weak, has found a global audience, with a recent BBC report suggesting he had a million people using his website. Forums on the website also include user submitted guides on where best to sexually assault women in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

In an article from last February, Valizadeh, advocated making rape legal on private property. His rationale was that a women who consented to go into a man’s house, had consented to sex. The article meant that ahead of a speaking tour in Montreal and Toronto, more than 42,000 Canadians signed a petition calling for him to be banned under the country’s hate speech laws.

Ahead of Saturday’s event, he wrote: “Up to now, the enemy has been able to exert their power by isolating us and attacking with shrieking mobs, but we’ll be able to neutralise that tactic by amassing in high numbers come February 6. I will exact furious retribution upon anyone who challenges you in public on that date (remember to record them). Therefore let the sixth of February be a clear signal to all that we’re not going anywhere. We have finally arrived.”

Student and activist Kezia Kinder says Roosh V and Saturday’s event are “part of a wider problem with everyday sexism,” where men act with impunity.

Kinder says: “Going to any kind of nightclub invariably means being groped numerous times; there are nightclubs in Glasgow where I’ve felt more like meat than a human being, and lost count of the unwanted touching from complete strangers.

“If you look at the actual definition of sexual assault, then I’d challenge you to find any young woman who hasn’t been sexually harassed or assaulted. Yet most women don’t even realise this, and we still teach young men that this kind of behaviour is okay. Women are still being told to avoid being sexually assaulted, to avoid going out alone late at night, not to go for that early morning jog alone; but it’s high time that men started being told that women are not objects to be assaulted and harassed, and for both the police and wider society to shift the blame on the perpetrators, not the victims.”

A spokesman for Police Scotland said: “Sex without consent is rape. There are no excuses. If someone is drunk or drugged they cannot give consent. Police Scotland works closely with partner organisations to raise awareness and tackle the life changing impact of sexual crime. We must do all we can to prevent rape and sexual assaults amongst offering all the necessary support and protection to those who are victims.”

The spokesman said that the number of people who report rape is increasing, “which is a positive sign” as victims were “more confident” about coming forward.

“But we know this is an under-reported crime and we want to encourage people to come forward and know they will be listened to and we will act,” the spokesman said. “Our ultimate aim though is to prevent these crimes taking place in the first instance.”





The National View: This grubby man’s ideas are thriving here in Scotland

