61,000 domestic abuse crimes in Scotland is nothing to be proud of.
It's welcome that new statistics released this week show domestic abuse in Scotland is falling but those numbers are still shocking. They are still higher than in all but a few years since records began.
The SNP cannot get complacent and pat themselves on the back. This is not success, it's just less failure than before.
This week I brought forward a new blueprint to tackle domestic abuse. My policy paper, titled United Against Violence, sets out how we can end this dire situation, crack down on domestic abuse, and help more survivors to safely get out of violent homes and move on with their lives.
My blueprint to tackle domestic abuse includes 12 recommendations for the Scottish Government to take forward, including Create a Violence Against Women Unit in Police Scotland, ordering Police Scotland to treat violence against woman as a 'national threat', delivering a dedicated women’s officer for every local authority, changing the law to treat coercive behaviour on a par with physical violence, and expand financial support for victims who want to leave abusive households. This plan would also give police more powers to tackle abuse, strengthen the justice system to prevent offenders from avoiding prosecution, while also rolling out effective programmes to help more victims to come forward.
I was pleased to see many of the ideas in it welcomed by Scottish Women's Aid. Marsha Scott, the chief executive of Scottish Women’s Aid, told The Sunday Times that the charity had “long advocated for the implementation” of several ideas in the paper, including more financial support for women experiencing abuse. I was delighted to hear her praise me as “an ally in our fight to eradicate domestic abuse from Scotland” and I will continue to champion the rights of victims and survivors.
I will soon bring forward my Domestic Abuse (Prevention) Bill in the Scottish Parliament. At the consultation stage, 23 separate organisations voiced support for the proposal. It recently progressed to the next legislative step after gaining the support of more than 40 MSPs from across five different political parties including the SNP, Labour and Liberal Democrats.
My Bill would bring in a reporting system for domestic abuse, which would operate in a similar way to the sex offenders' register and help to bring down repeat offences. It also contains measures that would increase education around domestic abuse, which would help to prevent violence from occurring in the first place.
I have been heartened by support for the Bill from survivors of abuse and I am cautiously optimistic that it can pass through the Scottish Parliament and become law.
We should all aspire to make Scotland a world-leader in tackling this abhorrent crime.
I hope the SNP Government will not get complacent. They must fully consider these proposals so we can give victims of abuse the support they need to leave violent homes.
