20th
December 2007
No
Excuses for “Pathetic” Christmas Wife-beaters – McNeil
MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Duncan
McNeil, is backing the annual Christmas campaign against domestic violence.
But
he warned that the only way to eradicate the scourge is to tackle it at source
by challenging the attitude, still held by some, that it’s okay to beat and
humiliate your nearest and dearest.
“There’s
nothing lower than a man who will beat a woman or child,” he said today.
“It doesn’t make you hard or the big man – it makes you pathetic.
“Christmas
is a time for families to come together and have fun, but sadly we know that
tensions and pressures, added to worries about money and mixed with excess
alcohol lead to an increase in domestic violence.
“These
factors might explain the rise in domestic violence at this time of year, but
they don’t excuse it. There is
never an excuse to beat your wife.
“The
government, of course, needs to provide refuges and support for women and
children fleeing violence in the home – it should be the abuser, not the
victim, who suffers.
“But
we must tackle the problem at source and stop women being beaten – and their
children being forced to watch it – in the first place.
That means leaving abusers in no doubt that they will be caught and
subject to the full weight of the law. And
it also means challenging the ludicrous notion, still harboured by some, that
it’s somehow okay to bully and humiliate a woman or child.”
The
Christmas campaign against domestic violence starts on Boxing Day and features
new television, radio and billboard advertisements highlighting the impact of
domestic abuse on young people.
The
Domestic Abuse Helpline is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and can be
called free on 0800 027 1234. Calls
cannot be traced.
ENDS
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