People experiencing domestic abuse have been told they are not alone, as an SNP MSP urged them to seek support over the festive period.
Falkirk East MSP Michelle Thomson said the Scottish Women’s Aid domestic abuse helpline, which also supports those in forced marriages, is open throughout Christmas.
It comes amid rising cases of violence against women and girls over the winter period.
Figures for 2021-22 show police recorded 64,807 incidents of domestic violence, with common assault accounting for 32% of such crimes recorded.
READ MORE: Education Secretary confirms £7m for abuse victims used in pay deal
December and January were among the most frequent months for incidents that year, according to Scottish Government data, alongside the summer months of July and August.
Ms Thomson said: “What is a time of love and celebration for many households at this time of year can sadly be a very different experience for men and women who are victims of domestic abuse. We need to show them they are not alone this Christmas.
“We know from evidence that incidences of domestic violence increase over the festive period, and that people trapped in abusive households can feel even more isolated.
“I would encourage anyone experiencing violence and abuse to reach out for confidential support via the Scottish Women’s Aid helpline. Confidential, professional support remains available all throughout the holiday period.
“For anyone in an abusive relationship – or knows someone who is – please reach out to Scotland’s 24/7 domestic abuse and forced marriage helpline on 0800 027 1234.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here