The dozens of domestic abuse incidents reported to police in Fife during the first week of December were probably just the “tip of the iceberg”, Fife Women’s Aid said yesterday.
Incidents of threatening phone messages, harassment and assault have all been logged by Fife Constabulary during its latest domestic abuse campaign.
Out of the 39 cases, 31 people appeared in court from custody. Five of the accused have been women.
There were 44 domestic abuse incidents in Fife over the same period last year.
But Fife Women’s Aid general manager Ruth Thomson told The Courier the actual figure of abuse going on “behind closed doors” was probably greater.
She said: “The campaign runs at this time of year, but I wouldn’t necessarily say the problem was worse at this time of year it tends to be a problem throughout the year. But what you will find is that, generally speaking, families who are in difficulty won’t leave home before Christmas, unless they really need to. It’s a big step to uproot especially with children.
“What we tend to see is relative stability in our refuges over Christmas and then a spike in people leaving home after the new year when they feel brave enough to take that big step.”
Ruth said an important development running throughout the year had been the White Ribbon Campaign (WRC), which is the UK branch of the global campaign to ensure men take more responsibility for reducing the level of violence against women.
On October 30 Health Secretary Alex Neil revealed that the number of reported domestic abuse incidents in Scotland rose to nearly 60,000 in 2011-2012 a 7% increase from 2010-2011.
Last year in Fife, reported incidences of domestic abuse increased to more than 4,500 a 16% increase on the previous year.
But Ruth puts this down to the pro-active campaign of reporting in Fife, which has encouraged more people suffering abuse to come forward, thanks to close partnership working between Fife Constabulary, Fife Council and other agencies.
Prevention was also important, with a lot of work now done in schools and a general rise in public awareness through publicity and the issue being picked up on TV shows.
She said “massive steps” had been taken in raising awareness compared with 10 years ago.
She added: “There are no barriers of socio-economics, culture or age when it comes to domestic abuse.
“It is spread across our population and between one-in-four and one-in-five of women in Scotland will experience it. And it’s not just physical stuff. A lot of it can be threatening, demeaning and mental behaviour designed to undermine self-esteem. A lot of it is about control.”
Superintendent Dougie Milton, of Fife Constabulary, said: “People often wrongly think that domestic abuse is a private matter, but it’s not, it’s simply a criminal offence committed within people’s homes.
“It is totally unacceptable and I am fully committed to directing resources to deal robustly with these type of incidents.
“Along with our partners, we can provide help and support to those affected.
“It is often a difficult decision for victims of such crimes to take the brave step to report abuse at the hands of a loved one, and my message to anyone suffering such abuse is that help and support are available, whether they inform a trusted family member or friend, agencies such as Woman’s Aid, Scottish Domestic Abuse helpline or the Police.’’
Anyone experiencing domestic abuse or looking for help, support and guidance in relation to domestic abuse can access the following free and confidential numbers: Women’s Aid on 0808 802 5555, or Scottish Domestic Abuse helpline on 0800 027 1234.
malexander@thecourier.co.uk