FEW men in North Herts and Stevenage have reported sexual assaults over the past two years.

Herts police say the low figures indicate there is still a social stigma with men reporting sex crimes. And it believes the real numbers of those assaulted could be much higher.

It comes after the force launched an operation this week, encouraging victims to come forward.

In Stevenage, between January and June 2012, there was just one allegation of sexual assault, while during the same period this year there were three allegations of rape.

In North Herts between January and June this year, there were no allegations of rape or sexual assault.

The same period last year saw one allegation of rape and one of sexual assault.

Some of those incidents have resulted in successful prosecution, while others have investigations ongoing.

A police spokesman said: “They are very low numbers, and we’d really like to encourage males to come forward – they can be as much victims as women.

“We understand, socially, there are problems with people coming forward to report (these crimes).”