Domestic Violence Rises 14% In Four Years

Reported cases of domestic violence have increased in Scotland, with figures showing a rise of almost 14 per cent in four years, it was revealed yesterday.

In 2007-8, police recorded 49,655 incidents of domestic abuse, compared with 43,632 in 2004-5.

This year’s figure is nearly 2 per cent higher than the 48,801 recorded in 2006-7, continuing a steady rise in incidents since 1999-2000, the first year for which data was available.

Those most at risk of domestic abuse are women aged 31 to 35. Most cases, 85 per cent, involve abuse of women by men.

Last night, Dr Mairead Tagg, a leading women’s aid campaigner, said the figures reflected an improvement in police response, the success of government campaigns and women being more aware of services on offer.

However, Dr Tagg, a psychologist based at Glasgow East Women’s Aid, warned that the true tally of violence was unknown because many women suffered up to 30 incidents of domestic abuse before reporting the perpetrator.

Dr Tagg also said misconceptions about domestic violence being caused by “the demon drink” or anger-management issues needed to be questioned.

“These old excuses keep getting trotted out,” she said. “I would ask why it should be the case that if a man has a problem with anger, it is saved for when he is at home with his partner rather than dealt with by taking on a man his own size in the pub. Alcohol can certainly be a factor in domestic abuse, but it is actually the coercive control of every aspect of a person’s life and we need to look at issues of sexual, financial and emotional control occuring day in, day out.”

Dr Tagg added that despite Scotland’s reputation for having a high level of domestic violence, research had shown that while a third of women in western Europe would suffer domestic abuse, the figure for Scotland was less than one in five.

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: “Domestic abuse must not be tolerated in any form. We know the effects of domestic abuse can be devastating, including on children and young people, and we are determined to tackle it, wherever and whenever it occurs.

“The rise in the reporting of incidents shows that while we have made progress in changing attitudes and encouraging people to report domestic abuse, there is still a lot more work to do in tackling this problem.”

The government has announced funding of nearly £44 million to address violence against women and domestic abuse – more than double the investment made between 2005-8.

But Richard Baker, the Labour justice spokesman, said the figures showed the need for a “concerted effort” by the Scottish Government to rid the country of the problem.

In September, The Scotsman revealed two out of three local authorities had failed to pledge any crackdown on violence against women as part of new funding arrangements, raising fears that cash would be cut.

FACT BOX

• Repeat victimisation was involved in 54 per cent of domestic abuse cases in 2007-8, compared with 57 per cent the previous year.

• Where the number of previous incidents was known, 29 per cent of cases involved a single previous incident, 29 per cent involved two or three previous incidents and 42 per cent involved four or more.

• The increase since 2000-1 could be affected by the length of time that different forces have kept databases.