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No Excuse for Domestic Abuse
In Highland last year 1417 domestic abuse incidents came to the attention of the police – that is almost four each day.

The Highland Wellbeing Alliance campaign to raise awareness about the unacceptability of such shocking statistics picked up momentum again this week. The second poster will be published and distributed to coincide with International Women’s Day on the 8th of March. This date, commemorated by the United Nations (and a national holiday in many countries), is the story of ordinary women as makers of history; it is embedded in the centuries old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal parallel with men.

The second in the series of three posters designed by Zero Tolerance Charitable Trust has been distributed to a wide range of individuals and organisations, including Post Offices, church groups, local councillors, pubs, and GP surgeries.

Gillian Gunn, Domestic Abuse Campaign Co-ordinator for the Alliance says, “The key message of this poster is that there is no excuse for domestic abuse. Abusers will use reasons like stress or alcohol to attempt to explain their behaviour and to place the blame on to something or someone else. These are not valid reasons – there are never valid reasons for abusing anyone, particularly someone they claim to love or have loved.”

Councillor Ella MacRae, Chair of the Domestic Abuse Strategy Group said, “I welcome the second phase of this awareness raising campaign. It must be remembered that domestic abuse can take many forms and can be carried out by partners or ex-partners and can include physical, sexual, mental and emotional abuse.”

Earlier Poster August 2004   Domestic Abuse Strategy of Highland Wellbeing Alliance (Pdf doc)