Official Report search · Parliament Workbench

Chamber

Plenary, 09 Nov 2006

09 Nov 2006 · S2 · Plenary

Item of business

Violence Against Women

Petrie, Dave Con Highlands and Islands Watch on SPTV

We will be supporting the motion. The fact that many women in Scotland are still facing the horror of domestic abuse is an incredible statistic with Dickensian parallels. Throughout my investigations into this matter, I was appalled by some of the facts and figures that I came across, such as the fact that one in every five women experiences domestic abuse at some point in her life, which is a horrifying statistic. Domestic abuse is an horrendous crime and when it is reported it needs to be tackled with all the severity of the law.

Although the number of reported instances of domestic abuse has continued to rise, Executive policy has tended to focus on the judicial penalties to be applied after an act has taken place. I remember the Labour Party promising not so long ago to be tough on crime and the causes of crime, but that seems to have been abandoned in a range of areas.

It is undeniable that we have an increasingly violent society. Violent crime is on the increase, as are violent images on television, in films and in computer games. A more violent society will lead to a rise in violent domestic abuse. Such a crime does not develop independently of society.

There is, regrettably, also a child protection aspect to this issue that needs to be taken into consideration, because 40 to 60 per cent of domestic abuse cases also involve a child.

I was pleased to see our party take the unprecedented step in 2002 of producing a domestic violence poster. Such steps go a long way towards dealing with the issue. Publicity is an invaluable tool, as it enables many to identify circumstances in which the victim is too scared to speak out. I am pleased that there have been similar initiatives by other organisations and government bodies. I hope that those in the teaching, medical and policing professions will also have the relevant training and awareness to identify an individual who is in need of help. How much better would it be, though, if that awareness extended to working environments such as the office, the shop and the factory?

Additionally, the publicising and promotion of existing legal protection are important. A report in 2003 on the awareness of the Protection from Abuse (Scotland) Act 2001 revealed disappointing findings. Some 87 per cent of previous victims and a number of professionals had either no understanding or a limited understanding of the act and the protection that it offers.

Another aspect of improving the reporting of incidents is faith in the justice system. Unfortunately, that has been decreasing in recent years, mostly as a consequence of the widespread early release schemes. At stage 2 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill, Bill Aitken's attempt to introduce measures to reduce remission to one sixth of a sentence for short-term and long-term prisoners, rather than the current half or two thirds, was voted down by Labour, the SNP and the Liberal Democrats. This matter is all about trust. If we are to encourage highly vulnerable women—and we must remember that, on average, two women a week are killed by their partners or former partners—to report matters to the police and stick with the system, they have to feel that the system is on their side and will stay with them throughout the process. There are two things that urgently need to be done in that regard. The first is that we must end automatic early releases and the second is that we must establish a three-strikes-and-you're-out policy.

Finally, it is important that we consider why such cases are occurring. What is wrong with our society that means that many men are unable to cope and think that it is acceptable to take that out on their partners? Why have we become so violent? What are we going to do about it? Time is not on our side.

Search Hansard contributions

Plenary, 09 Nov 2006

In the same item of business