Cases of domestic abuse recorded by the police in Scotland have risen for the second year in a row, to the second highest level in a decade, figures have shown.
Police Scotland recorded 64,967 incidents of domestic abuse in 2024-25 – a rise of 2% from the previous year total of 63,867.
The total was also up from 2022-23, when there were 61,934 such incidents recorded by police, but is lower than in 2020-21, with the 65,251 incidents of domestic abuse recorded that year the highest over the 10-year period spanning from 2015-16 to 2024-25.
Across Scotland there were a total of 117 incidents of domestic abuse recorded per 10,000 – although this rate was highest in the Dundee City Council area, where there were 189 incidents for every 10,000 people.
Police Scotland also recorded 39,711 crimes where domestic abuse was classed as an aggravating factor in 2024-25 – with this total including 14,507 cases of common assault.
But there were also six cases of murder or culpable homicide, 427 cases of attempted murder and serious assault and 1,523 cases of rape and attempted rape, the figures showed.
Four out of five (81%) of all recorded incidents of domestic abuse involved a female victim with a male as a the suspected perpetrator – with this unchanged since 2020-21.
In 16% of cases there was a male victim with a female suspected perpetrator, with this up from 15% in 2023-24.
Where the relationship between the victim and suspected perpetrator was known, the 2024-25 figures also showed that in half (50%) of domestic abuse incidents involved partners – with 49% of incidents between ex-partners.
About nine out of 10 (89%) of all domestic abuse incidents took place inside a home, with the latest figures also showing almost three-quarters (73%) of domestic abuse incidents involved a victim and suspected perpetrator who had previously been recorded in a domestic abuse incident – though the report noted that these previous incidents might have involved different partners.