Domestic abuse crimes up 11%, police figures show

Domestic abuse crimes in Scotland have increased over the past year, according to the latest figures in a Police Scotland report.

The figures show there were 20,271 reported crimes of domestic abuse between April and September - a rise of 11% on the same period the year before.

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson said the majority of the increase was in the psychological crime types, such as stalking and coercive control.

He suggested domestic abuse was still underreported but believes victims are becoming more confident to come forward.

A recent Scottish government report said 81% of incidents reported to police involved a male perpetrator and female victim.

It said 15% featured a female perpetrator and male victim and 3% were same-sex couples.

Where an age was known, the report said approximately 35% of all reported incidents featured a male perpetrator under the age of 35 - and almost one-third occurred over the weekend.

About two-thirds of domestic abuse incidents involved a victim and suspected perpetrator who had previously been recorded in a domestic abuse incident.

Dr Emma Forbes, who is the national procurator fiscal responsible for prosecuting domestic abuse, said: "Domestic abuse is not just about physical violence.

"It includes verbal, psychological, sexual, and financial abuse, as well as coercive control and stalking.

"Controlling what clothing or makeup the victim can wear, restricting their movements, monitoring their communications and preventing them from seeing loved ones are just some of the recognised forms of domestic abuse."

Assistant Chief Constable Johnson, the crime and protection lead for Police Scotland, described domestic abuse as a "crime that remains hidden behind closed doors".

He said he expected the figures would continue to rise as more people become confident enough to report incidents.

Mr Johnson said: "We are fully aware that women can be abusers too, however our figures year-on-year consistently highlight that over 80% of incidents reported to us involve a male perpetrator and so our focus remains on reducing offending by men.

"Our aim is to encourage young men who are starting out in relationships to reflect on their behaviour and recognise that if they have started to use abusive, controlling or coercive behaviour to realise that it's wrong and to change."