By Adam Morris
When news broke that a 44-year-old woman had been killed at home in Edinburgh in July, events followed a familiar pattern.
Shortly after, a man of a similar age was arrested and charged, with it later emerging the culprit was a former partner of Vikki Soloman (pictured above right), a dearly-loved business owner and mother of two.
Lee Greenan, who staggered into a local pub admitting to the crime, was found dead in prison days later.
Later in the same month, another tragedy struck when 35-year-old Stacy Mair (pictured above left) was found dead at a property in Renfrewshire.
Her husband, Jim Mair, who had already appeared in court charged with her assault, was also found dead, the inevitable guilty party in a brutal murder-suicide.
Both are catastrophic case studies of an increasing problem plaguing Scottish society.
New figures have revealed there are now 204 reports of crimes of violence against women and girls every day.
The police statistics show that is a 7.6 per cent increase from last year. In total, 74,494 reports were made in 2025/26.
Of the tens of thousands of cases reported to officers, around half are described as domestic incidents involving a partner or a former partner.
The most prevalent crime types committed are common assault, threatening or abusive behaviour, and rape.
And campaigners fear this number is a significant underestimate, with many women and girls scared to report assaults and threats for fear of reprisals from their tormentor.
“Using police data of reports to tell you the real prevalence of violence against women doesn’t work,” said Dr Marsha Scott, chief executive of Scottish Women’s Aid. “Because it’s way worse.
“Domestic abuse isn’t something that happened last night at 10pm. It’s a 24-hour-a-day existence.
“These numbers are shocking – but they’ve been shocking for a very long time.
“Everyone says women should have confidence in the system to report abuse. No: the system should have the confidence to protect women.”
Shortly after, a man of a similar age was arrested and charged, with it later emerging the culprit was a former partner of Vikki Soloman, a dearly-loved business owner and mother of two.
Lee Greenan, who staggered into a local pub admitting to the crime, was found dead in prison days later.
Later in the same month, another tragedy struck when 35-year-old Stacy Mair (pictured above) was found dead at a property in Renfrewshire.
Her husband, Jim Mair, who had already appeared in court charged with her assault, was also found dead, the inevitable guilty party in a brutal murder-suicide.
Both are catastrophic case studies of an increasing problem plaguing Scottish society.
New figures have revealed there are now 204 reports of crimes of violence against women and girls every day.
The police statistics show that is a 7.6 per cent increase from last year. In total, 74,494 reports were made in 2025/26.
Of the tens of thousands of cases reported to officers, around half are described as domestic incidents involving a partner or a former partner.
The most prevalent crime types committed are common assault, threatening or abusive behaviour, and rape.
And campaigners fear this number is a significant underestimate, with many women and girls scared to report assaults and threats for fear of reprisals from their tormentor.
“Using police data of reports to tell you the real prevalence of violence against women doesn’t work,” said Dr Marsha Scott, chief executive of Scottish Women’s Aid. “Because it’s way worse.
“Domestic abuse isn’t something that happened last night at 10pm. It’s a 24-hour-a-day existence.
“These numbers are shocking – but they’ve been shocking for a very long time.
“Everyone says women should have confidence in the system to report abuse. No: the system should have the confidence to protect women.”
“Violence against women and girls is a growing national threat, with an average of over 200 crimes every day”
Police Scotland recently produced a report on tackling violence against females, and Chief Constable Jo Farrell made the issue a key focus of her most recent update to the Scottish Police Authority.
She listed a litany of recent cases where men had been convicted of violent or sexual assaults on women.
They included actor Iain Robertson, who was imprisoned for nine years for a string of sexual assaults and rapes between 2004 and 2019 in Glasgow.
She also referenced the lifelong restriction order placed on 21-year-old Aaron Strachan for the abduction and rape of a girl in Edinburgh, the chilling footage of which was recently shared by prosecutors.
She told board members: “Violence against women and girls is a growing national threat, with an average of over 200 crimes every day.
“It is a societal issue and, as such, one that requires more than just a policing approach.”
Police Scotland has developed a number of strategies to tackle the problem.
These include encouraging women to exit prostitution, intensifying efforts to catch male perpetrators, and tackling the increasing scourge of online sexual abuse.
A specific operation is also underway to understand why so many women and children are migrating to Scotland from south-east Asian countries like Vietnam, and targeting the organised criminals who smooth the path to drive them into illegal sex work.
Towards the end of the year a domestic abuse campaign was also launched aimed at a younger age group.
And in late July, the Scottish Government announced new legislation which could be used to remove domestic abusers from their home.
First Minister John Swinney also personally pledged to ramp up government efforts to solve the domestic abuse crisis.
