‘Tougher sentences’ needed in abuse cases
A Lanarkshire woman whose police officer boyfriend subjected her to domestic abuse so severe that she thought she would die says harsher punishments need to be meted out to perpetrators.
Brave Anne-Marie Hirdman feared that Constable Fraser Ross would kill her at times over the course of their six-year relationship.
He was eventually convicted of assaulting her on three separate occasions and behaving i n a threatening or abusive manner towards her at their home in Motherwell.
Anne-Marie claimed that Ross’s eyeballs would often be “popping out his head” as he attacked her.
She claimed she was hit on an almost weekly basis and seriously assaulted around 40 times, and these ordeals included being pinned to the ground and her neck being kneeled on, as well as being repeatedly kneed, hit and suffocated.
The 42-year-old former model now works for Women’s Aid raising awareness of domestic abuse and encouraging other victims to come forward.
The Scottish Government recently held a minute’s silence at Holyrood in memory of women killed by men this year and Anne-Marie spoke out afterwards, saying the authorities need to do more to tackle domestic abuse.
“The perpetrators know that the laws are not harsh enough,” she said. “You need to have two forms of evidence to prove some of it and they don’t fear the punishments.
“We need to make sure kids are being taught from a young age what is acceptable and what is not.
“But people i n society also need to stand up and speak out when t hey know someone is doing something wrong.
“Sometimes it feels that nothing is done until a person has been severely beaten or murdered. People tend to not want to get involved.”
Ross, 41, who served with Police Scotland for 16 years, resigned from his job.
Anne-Marie has a heart condition and still suffers physically and emotionally from the cowardly cop’s abuse, more than two years after they split.
She says he would tell her she deserved the abuse and he would often be “frothing at the mouth” during assaults.
The disgraced cop denied attacking Anne-Marie and labelled her a “vindictive liar” who was “jealous and paranoid”.
Ross was convicted of the offences at Hamilton Sheriff Court earlier this year but avoided a custodial sentence, and was handed a Community Payback Order in June this year.
Anne-Marie is now also calling for better education and support after the judicial process reaches its conclusion.
She added: “More support is needed for victims that do stand up and speak out and courts’ decisions need to think about the victims’ safety after the court process is finished.
“Workplaces and schools need to have training to help managers and colleagues know the signs of people who may be in danger.
“Children need to feel they can talk to people and schools can help with that. If domestic violence has been found within a home, children should be assigned someone for therapy.”
T h e m i n u t e ’s s i l e n c e a t t h e parliament was followed by a debate on violence against women.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Violence against women is abhorrent and totally unacceptable and our long-standing Equally Safe Strategy – which is widely supported – sets out our ambition to eradicate it in all its forms.
“We have provided funding to projects for years and this increased funding commitment reflects a rise in need during the pandemic.
“The £100million will be invested in this parliamentary term to support frontline services and projects which focus on the prevention of violence against women and girls from school onward over the next three years.
“Lady Dorrian’s report on the management of sexual offence cases highlights that much more can and should be done to improve the experience of those involved”.