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DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: FINDINGS FROM THE 2000 SCOTTISH CRIME SURVEY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report presents the findings from the 2000 Scottish Crime Survey (SCS) relating to domestic violence. The SCS measures crimes directly experienced by people living in private households. The main SCS interview is administered face-to-face, but respondents aged 16-59 are also given a self-completion questionnaire covering more sensitive issues including domestic violence. It should be borne in mind that raw numbers were very small. Only 95 respondents said they had had force used against them or had been threatened by a partner in 1999. Care should, therefore, be taken when interpreting figures.
MAIN FINDINGS
- Thirteen percent of respondents stated that they had experienced either threats or force at some time in their lives, while 10% reported that they had experienced both threats and force at some time. Almost one in five (19%) female respondents reported having ever experienced threats or force from a partner or ex-partner compared with 8% of males.
- Four percent of respondents had experienced either threats or force during 1999 and 3% had experienced both threats and force. Women were more likely than men to report that incidents of domestic violence had occurred, with 6% of women and 3% of men reporting that they had been the victim of either threats or force during 1999.
- Almost a third (31%) of respondents who said they had experienced threats or force during 1999 reported that this occurred at least once a week. This highlights the extent of repeat victimisation in relation to domestic violence. Female victims (36%) were more likely than male victims (18%) to report that they had experienced either threats or force at least once a week.
- Where there were children in the household, over half (58%) of the incidents of domestic violence reported to the 2000 survey were seen or heard by children. In 62% of incidents the perpetrator had been drinking alcohol and in 32% of incidents the perpetrator had taken drugs. Most (83%) incidents involving drugs also involved alcohol.
- Almost half (47%) of the female victims who had been injured visited a doctor or hospital, while no male victims reported having done so. Similarly, almost half (42%) of female victims of domestic violence, reported that the police had come to know about this, compared with 8% of male victims.
- Those in contact with an ex-partner had a disproportionately higher risk of domestic violence. Almost a quarter (23%) of those in contact with an ex-partner during 1999 (2% of the sample) reported that they had experienced domestic threats or force, compared with 4% of the sample as a whole.
- Around 6 out of 10 (58%) of those that had experienced threats or force during 1999 felt that they had been victims of domestic violence. Sixty-seven per cent of females held this view compared with only 39% of males.
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