Swinney pledges ‘personal leadership’ on domestic abuse after scale ‘laid bare’

John Swinney has said he will give his “strongest personal leadership” to tackling male violence against women.

The First Minister said the scale of the issue had been “laid bare” by prominent cases in recent days.

In July, 44-year-old Vikki Soloman was allegedly killed by her ex-partner in Edinburgh, while 35-year-old Stacy Mair was murdered in Renfrewshire.

Ms Mair’s husband was found dead at the scene of the incident, while Ms Soloman’s ex-partner was later found dead in his cell after being charged with murder.

The First Minister wrote an article in the Sunday Post after meeting with domestic abuse survivor Danielle MacDonald at Bute House.

He said: “Danielle was remarkable.

“She came to tell me, directly and in her own words, how the systems that were supposed to protect her failed to do so, and what must change so other women are not failed in the same way.”

Swinney continued: “The meeting took place in a week when the scale of violence against women has been laid bare.

“These cases are different in their circumstances, but they sit within the same grim pattern.

“New figures show domestic homicide in Scotland has doubled in the space of a year, from six deaths to 12.”

He added: “As a male First Minister, I intend to give the strongest personal leadership to tackling male violence against women.

“This is not a women’s issue to be solved by women.

“It is a men’s issue, and it demands that men take responsibility for changing the culture and the behaviours that allow this violence to persist and, far too often, to escalate to fatal violence.”

On Saturday, new legal provisions to protect the housing of domestic abuse victims came into force.

The new provisions aim to help some domestic abuse victims to remain in their home where it is their wish, and where it is safe and appropriate for them to do so.