The Scottish Government

Some facts:

• A minimum of 750,000 British children and young people a year are witnesses to domestic abuse. (BMA Board of Science, 2007)
• In Scotland, children make up more than half the residents in refuge . (Scottish Women's Aid)
• Around 30% of domestic abuse starts during pregnancy (BMA Board of Science, 2007) and women who experience domestic abuse are twice as likely to experience a miscarriage. (Kovacs et al., 2006)
• On nine out of ten occasions, the child is in the same or the next room during attacks on their mother. (ChildLine, 2004)
• 70% of teenage mothers are in a relationship with a violent partner (Harry Kissoon et al., 2002)
• A recent Scottish study involving 1395 young people aged 14-18 found that a third of young men and a sixth of young women thought that using violence in intimate relationships was acceptable under certain circumstances. (Burman, M and Cartmel, F (2005))
• A study found that 17% of young women had experienced violence or abuse in their own relationships with a boyfriend. (Burman, M and Cartmel, F (2005))
• The "Raising the Issue of Domestic Abuse in School" Study (2005) revealed that 32% of pupils in one secondary school in Scotland disclosed anonymously that they were currently experiencing domestic abuse.