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Plenary, 02 Dec 2009

02 Dec 2009 · S3 · Plenary

Item of business

Violence Against Women

Aitken, Bill Con Glasgow Watch on SPTV

As the minister commented, at the weekend officials at league and cup football matches in Scotland wore white ribbons in support of a campaign against domestic violence. Despite that heartening gesture, the continuing prevalence of domestic violence in Scotland is a discouraging reality. Although I sincerely hope that domestic violence will one day become a dead issue, at the moment, sadly, it is certainly not.

Official figures that were released late last month show record numbers of domestic abuse cases in Scotland. The figures are pretty stark. Specifically, there were 53,681 recorded incidents in 2008-09—4,026 more than in the previous year and an increase of approximately 8 per cent. Furthermore, the number of male domestic violence victims increased by almost a fifth. It would be ludicrous to suggest other than that the vast majority of assaults are perpetrated by men against women, but violence is simply unacceptable, whoever perpetrates it.

The most depressing statistic might be that the number of repeat offenders increased by 39 per cent in comparison with the previous year's figures. In addition to proving that many domestic abusers are undeterred by punishment, that statistic might suggest a disturbing parallel with the dangerous culture of heavy drinking in Scotland.

Although some might argue that the increased numbers merely show a police crackdown on domestic abusers in Scotland—and I think that we would all take some encouragement from what Mr Neil said about that today—the reality is that a large number of domestic violence cases are never reported. We know that to be a fact. Therefore, the true number of domestic abuse situations in Scotland is, unfortunately, much higher than the number in the recently published statistics.

It depresses me, as a keen football supporter, that there is a clear correlation between the activities at football grounds and domestic violence. Although the particular circumstances that surround old firm matches are well known to us all, there could well be a wider reflection of domestic violence following games in which one or possibly both of the Glasgow sides suffer a disappointing result. Perhaps Scotland's obsession with football is becoming just a little bit dangerous. People require to understand that, at the end of the day, it is only a game.

It must be understood that domestic abuse is an appalling crime that simply cannot be tolerated within any civilised society. The problems of the primary victims are bad enough, but when there are children within the household those problems become magnified. As we all know, a stable and friendly home environment is vital to children's mental and physical development during their formative years. Parents are tasked with the duty of instilling principles within their children and aiding them in becoming responsible, law-abiding adults. Children who are forced to live in abusive environments are often denied that educational process and suffer lasting psychological trauma that can manifest itself later in violent behaviour.

The man who beats his partner on a regular basis may, through his actions, suggest to his adolescent son that violence is acceptable or even normal. As a result, the young boy may gradually begin to adopt such a mentality and eventually follow his father's example as an adult, thus continuing the vicious cycle not only of domestic abuse but of violence in general.

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Plenary, 02 Dec 2009

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