A woman who endured more than 40 years of domestic abuse has called for tougher jail sentences for abusers, following new figures showing a sharp rise in attacks on women.
Eve Graham was pushed into the sea from a pier, bitten on the nose and hit over the head with a bucket by her husband, William McDonald. McDonald, now 77, was jailed for two years but released after serving just one year. He also received a ten-year non-harassment order.
Surge in reported cases
New figures from the Crown Office show attacks by a spouse or partner are at an 11-year high. Prosecutors received 34,586 cases with domestic abuse charges from police in 2025/26, up 14 percent on 2024-25. This is the highest number of such cases reported since 2015.
Eve, 68, says she still suffers from PTSD and lives in fear following McDonald's release from prison in June.
She said: "The sentences for domestic violence are far too lenient even if the cases get to court. Victims are still not taken seriously. That sends out the wrong signal to perpetrators. How often do you hear the term: 'oh, it is just a domestic.' I was in my own home and assaulted."
Victims not supported
Eve believes more women are coming forward to report attacks because they think they will be taken seriously by the authorities. But she says the reality for many is the opposite.
She added: "Nothing changes. The sentences are not severe enough and the women are not supported."
Eve has since become an advocate and activist for women victims of domestic abuse. She said: "Dozens of women like me have come forward because they have been let down by the system. Once the case is over and they have gone to court they are still not believed and like me are trolled online. They are just left to get on with it."
Eve says sentences for abusers must be more severe to act as a deterrent. She added: "If I had been attacked by a stranger rather than my husband then the sentence would have been more serious. That seems to be the outcome of most domestic abuse cases. There also has to be more government funded programmes for victims both before and after the trial."
History of abuse
McDonald, from Ardersier, Inverness-shire, was jailed for two years at the High Court in Edinburgh in June last year after being convicted of charges spanning 47 years. A judge said he had demonstrated a "disturbing propensity towards violence and cruelty".
It was 1979 when Eve, from Nairn, first alerted police after she was dragged by her hair by McDonald at their home in East Kilbride, near Glasgow. She claims he was just given a "talking to". In 1981, McDonald threw her and shook her, causing her to hit her head on a chair. Police were called but Eve claims no further action was taken. In 1987, he pushed his wife off a pier.
The musician continued his abuse between August 2019 and August 2022. On her GP's advice, she spoke to police and the following year an investigation was launched.
Eve added: "The latest figures for domestic abuse are not surprising but they are the tip of the iceberg. There are many more women out there not reporting domestic abuse and that has to change. It is so common, it is so prevalent. I spoke to a woman last week a nurse who said she would have to hurry up because her partner didn't like her being out too long and speaking to people. That's the way a lot of women live."
Eve continued: "I was lucky my husband was sent to prison as there are a lot of women who are assaulted and this doesn't happen. Instead the men are put on a tag or a programme. I am left with severe PTSD and a scar on my nose which I see every day. I will never recover. I have a life sentence while my husband got out after a year."
