THERE were 629 domestic abuse incidents in Grampian during a two month campaign.
Across Scotland there was an increase in the number of incidents during December and January on the same period in the previous 12 months.
Raising young people’s awareness of relationship abuse issues is the key to preventing domestic abuse, according to a senior police officer.
Chief Inspector Graham Goulden, head of the Anti-Violence Campaign for the Violence Reduction Unit said: "Domestic abuse is Scotland’s national shame. We must remember that domestic abuse is everyone’s problem.
"If we really want to make a difference to levels of domestic abuse, we need to look at our attitudes towards relationships and what we see as acceptable."
There were 10,159 incidents across Scotland during the campaign, an increase of 261 for the same period last year.
Domestic abuse costs Scotland an estimated £2.3 billion each year.
Added Ch Insp Goulden: "We know that Christmas is a peak time for domestic abuse, but these figures are unacceptable. Just one incident of domestic abuse is one too many."
A mentors programme aims to train pupils to safely challenge and intervene when they see aggressive behaviour.
"It won’t stop domestic abuse overnight, but it will help make the behaviour that can lead to it less acceptable, and that’s important if we are ever to truly tackle the problem," said Ch Insp Goulden.
The Scottish Domestic Abuse Helpline can be contacted 24 hours a day on 0800 027 1234
