Tomorrow the eyes of the world will be on Scotland as leaders from across the globe descend to discuss the climate change conference.
COP26 has dominated the headlines as Police Scotland and the Scottish Government prepared for one of the biggest security operations this country has ever seen. So it was no surprise that the news the country has recorded its lowest homicide rates since comparable records began in 1976 went largely unnoticed.
Scotland’s chief statistician revealed there were 55 cases and 58 people killed in the year from April 2020 to March 2021, down by 15 per cent from 65 cases and 66 victims in the previous year.
This was heralded in some quarters as “encouraging” news especially when you consider that Glasgow was once known as the “murder capital of Europe”. In the wake of the appalling Sarah Everard murder at the hands of a police officer, the conversation has centred around male violence against women.
The outpourings on social media reflects the current mood – men are responsible, not women, for male violence.
Well-meaning advice and messages on how women should stay safe and how to avoid becoming a victim has rightly angered us all. Women should not be solely responsible for women’s safety. My views on this are already well documented.
But I want to talk about the elephant in the room.
Statistically, men are more likely to be victims of violent crime than women. Of the 58 victims in 2020-21, 48 were men and 10 were women. Until we confront male violence in every form – whether that is against each other or women – the safety of all of us is under threat.
While the stats tell us most of the homicides were drug-related, they also told us the most common method of killing was with a sharp instrument.
And that hasn’t changed in 10 years. Men are more likely to be murdered by a stranger while tragically women are most likely to die at the hands of someone they know.
It’s not a competition – all violence is unacceptable, all victims matter – regardless of gender. New laws aren’t needed – resources are. Tackling the root causes of violence is a start. We know from vast experience violent behaviour and tendencies are shaped in the early years of a life. A chaotic, abusive background. Health. Poverty. Addiction. Emotional and physical neglect. All are linked with violence.
Serial killers Robert Black and Angus Sinclair were known to have suffered abusive upbringings as children with both men showing anti-social and violent tendencies from young ages.
Black, who was convicted of murdering three girls and suspected of many more, was an aggressive child with signs of depravity from around the age of five. From these backgrounds, violence becomes deep-rooted. Early interventions are a crucial weapon in the fight against violence.
Much has been discussed about women’s safety but if you believe the figures it was far more dangerous to be a woman in the 1970-80s than it is now.
We instinctively teach women how to protect ourselves and stay safe, we are given lessons on how to avoid being attacked.
But clearly we need to teach men the same things alongside helping them to manage their emotions, particularly anger, so that the outcomes are less devastating for individuals, families and communities.
