Fewer females call abuse line in winter

By Andrea McCallum

HUNDREDS of women suffered domestic abuse during the cold snap because they were unable to leave home to call for help.

According to new figures from the Scottish Domestic Abuse Helpline there was a 22 per cent drop in calls during the worst winter on record.

Experts have said the statistics – covering a four week period from Boxing Day – are unlikely to reflect a reduction in the number of assaults.

Instead they could show that the bad weather left vulnerable women trapped.

Yob tried to suffocate girlfriend over text from ex-boyfriend

By Michael MacLeod

A JEALOUS thug almost suffocated his girlfriend in his bed after finding text messages he thought were from an ex on her phone – then begged her to open her Christmas presents as she walked out on him.

Ryan Johnston, 31, went to a football match with his girlfriend of nine-months, Pamela Milligan, before moving on to various bars in Edinburgh last December.

But the Saturday night out turned sour when he raided her phone looking for messages from her previous boyfriend and quizzed her over her past until they got home.

Miss Milligan tried to go to sleep but Johnston flew into a booze-fuelled jealous rage, pinning her face down on the mattress while sitting on her chest.

He then twisted her neck repeatedly while kneeling on her arms.

She managed to escape the next morning when Johnston fell asleep, but she needed hospital treatment for heavy bruising all over her body.

Senior Scottish minister blasts Old Firm thugs as “barbaric”

By Michael MacLeod

OLD Firm football thugs who beat their wives have been slated as “barbaric” by a senior Government minister ahead of Saturday’s potentially explosive SPL title deciding clash at Ibrox.

Communities Minister Alex Neil revealed yesterday that an advertising campaign will be run on TV before, during and after the Rangers v Celtic match being shown live on Setanta specifically targeted to highlight a proven rise in complaints of domestic abuse centred around the Glasgow derby.

Electronic advertising hoardings around the perimeter of the pitch at Rangers ground Ibrox hosting the match will also carry the message: ‘There’s no excuse for domestic abuse’.

MSP Neil revealed that shameful domestic abuse attacks jumped by a staggering 88 per-cent to 231 cases on the last Old Firm matchday in March, sparking demands from police to the Scottish Government that ‘something has to be done.’

CAMPAIGN: Alex Neil, Communities Minister

And Mr Neil, unveiling a new report yesterday, admitted he worries for the wives and partners of drunken football yobs.

Evidence

He said: “We are doing extra this weekend around the Old Firm game because we have very clear evidence that around the game there is an increase in domestic abuse, particularly in the West coast.

“We are deliberately segmenting the message to men and women before and after the game. There’s absolutely nothing worse than for a woman to live in fear of her partner and we take a zero tolerance approach to violence against women, especially drunken violence.

“This is the 21st Century, Scotland is a modern nation and it is absolutely barbaric to engage in domestic abuse, which is one of the worst forms of violence in our society.”