Scottish Domestic Abuse Helpline reaches record levels.

Lets hope the helpline is reaching record levels because women are asking for help rather than men's violence against women is increasing.

The tel is 0800 027 1234, it is free, confidental and cannot be traced.

The helpline said more victims feel confident about coming forwardThe number of calls to a helpline for victims of domestic violence is at a record high.
More than 21,000 calls were made to the Scottish Domestic Abuse Helpline (SDAH) last year, an increase of 3% on 2006.
It is believed the rise is because more victims feel confident enough to come forward and ask for help.
The callers were mostly women but a significant number were men and children. Some of the youngsters wanted to get help for their mothers.
The helpline said the problem affected people from all parts of Scotland regardless of age, background and social class.
The calls are not just about physical abuse, many were in relation to psychological or emotional abuse

The Communities Minister Stewart Maxwell is now calling for more to be done to tackle domestic abuse.
He said: "While we have made progress in changing attitudes and encouraging women to report domestic abuse, there is still a lot more work to do in tackling this problem.
"The helpline is an important partner for us in tackling domestic abuse and their help has transformed the lives of many women and their children.
He said it was important that people were encouraged to seek help and report incidents to the police so the true extent of the problem could be discovered and perpetrators properly punished.
Helpline number
Liz Kelly, head of training at the SDAH, said: "We have had calls that range from people looking for immediate help to get out of a relationship because of domestic abuse, women looking for refuge accommodation, women who need urgent medical attention or who want to report incidents of domestic abuse to the police.
"The calls are not just about physical abuse, many were in relation to psychological or emotional abuse, which was highlighted by the Scottish Government's awareness campaign."
The Scottish Domestic Abuse Helpline number is 0800 027 1234 and lines are open 24 hours and calls are free, confidential and cannot be traced.

1% of domestic abuse reports goes to conviction

Diversion and formal warnings are not prosecutions or convictions!!! A researcher once told me that more people have winnings on the lottery every week than people are convicted of domestic abuse offences.

Thousands of cases of domestic abuse in the North-east are going unpunished.Scottish Government figures have revealed more than 3,000 cases a year of domestic abuse have been reported to Grampian Police.But the only year with a record of how many convictions there were was 2005/06 - when only 39 people were punished by the courts for domestic abuse.According to Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill there were 3,560 cases reported to Grampian Police in 2005/06, which fell to 3,137 in 2006/07.The number of cases had peaked in 2004/05 with 4,373.North-east Labour MSP Richard Baker, who got the information in a parliamentary question, claimed that more needed to be done to stop domestic abuse.He said: "It is wrong that thousands of cases of domestic abuse are going unpunished and women in particular may be going unprotected from violent partners."I would like the Scottish Government to look at how this can be tackled."A spokeswoman for Grampian Police said: "We take domestic abuse very seriously and encourage people to report it."The conviction rate is a matter for the Crown Office rather than the police, but it should be noted that in addition to prosecution there are other forms of disposal available such diversion, and formal warnings."

Chief Constable Vows To Blitz Wife Beaters

At long last someone is getting that domestic abuse is about the abusive man - why do the women and children have to leave and live in fear? When a man is charged with domestic abuse and is bailed to stay away from his ex-partner he needs to stay in a bail hostel - if he is a persistent offender he needs to be remanded. Perpetrators need to be held responsible and accountable for their behaviour as it is their problem - there will need to be a huge injection into funding it is imperative as Lily Greenan says in this article that women and children's safety is paramount. Best of luck Cheif Constable House - hope you can win the Glasgow Council over to your way of thinking and convince the Scottish Government to pay for it. Working with men costs quite a lot of money and their needs to be parity for the victims - the women and children, they need resources too. But Another Witch to Burn is behind this initiative, hope it happens..

Dec 2 2007 By Norman Silvester

Husbands Face Time In Hostels To Keep Them Away From Victims

WIFE-BEATERS will be forced to live in hostels far from their victims in a domestic violence crackdown.

The measure was revealed by Strathclyde Police's new chief constable, Steve House, yesterday.

He is making domestic violence a priority after taking charge of Scotland's biggest force and says it is wrong for battered women and their children to be forced to hide in refuges.

Mr House wants to turn the tables and put the wife-beaters there instead.

The dad of three said: "Domestic violence is on the increase. A woman will be the victim an average of 20 times before she calls the police.

"Normally, when a woman is the victim of domestic violence, she ends up in a refuge.

"I would like to see more refuges and hostels for women. But the last thing you want is the victim and her children taken out of the home because of the disruption to schooling and family life.

"We would prefer the accused be made to go to a hostel and the victim stay in the family home."

Mr House revealed men who assault their wives and partners will be routinely kept in custody until they can be taken to court.

They will be sent to live in hostels - paid for by the police and local authorities - until their trial.

The Glasgow-born officer added: "An average of 45 per cent of attacks in the home happen in front of a child and that child will often go on to commit acts of crime and violence.

"Evidence shows teenagers who commit violence are usually from homes where they have seen domestic violence."

The hostel plan is part of a raft of measures which include allowing police to accept third-party reporting of domestic violence, where terrified victims won't come forward. The moves also propose the creation of "Cocoon Watch" schemes, where neighbours are encouraged to report suspected domestic violence to police.

Victims will also be given panic alarms and their attackers forced to attend anger-management classes.

The plans have been welcomed by women's rights campaigners and politicians.

Jean Cumming from support agency Crisis said: "I'm delighted the chief constable is introducing the measures and hope every other force will follow suit.

"We've been campaigning to encourage authorities to take more radical action to tackle domestic abuse because it has such a knock-on effect across society.

"Providing bail hostels is particularly welcome as it will give an abused family a breathing space."

The scheme will be similar to the estimated 100 bail hostels in England, where about 2000 alleged offenders await trail.

'The last thing you want is the victim and kids moved from home'

Steve House

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