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Three women and a young girl killed in Scotland in six weeks: we must invest in prevention of violence against women and girls

Three women and a young girl killed in Scotland in six weeks: we must invest in prevention of violence against women and girls

4 August 2026 

For immediate release 

Zero Tolerance, Scotland’s primary prevention experts on ending men’s violence against women, is deeply saddened by the reported killings in the past six weeks of three women by former partners, as well as that of a young girl.

• Stacey Hogg – Hawick
• Vikki Soloman – Edinburgh
• Stacy Mair – Renfrewshire
• As yet unnamed 9 year old girl – Arbroath

We are also aware that many other acts of men’s violence against women and girls happen across Scotland on a daily basis. This week will see the sentencing of Osarenkhoe Atutie at Glasgow High court for a knife attack on his ex-wife Victory Atutie in Edinburgh last year. Sexual violence continues to occur at endemic proportions, affecting individuals and communities on a devastating scale. And women of colour across Scotland are receiving increasing levels of misogynistic, racist abuse.

Our thoughts are with all those impacted.

Jodie McVicar, Chair of the Board of Trustees, said:

‘We need a long-term national commitment to preventing violence rather than simply responding to its consequences.

Every woman has the right to live free from fear and violence. Preventing more deaths and violence against women and girls requires collective action from government, public services, communities, employers and individuals.

The loss of three women and a girl in such a short period should be a moment for reflection and renewed commitment. We owe it to all women who have died, and to those currently living with abuse, to do more than express outrage after the fact. We must act earlier, act together, and invest in prevention’

Rachel Adamson, Co-Director of Zero Tolerance said:

‘Violence against women and girls is rooted in inequality and harmful attitudes that continue to persist across society. The recent murders of Stacey, Vikki, Stacy and the as yet unnamed girl, are a stark reminder of the work we all need to do to tackle that inequality and prevent all forms of violence against women and girls.

These awful acts of violence against women are often used to justify increased policing and surveillance that can place communities at further harm. Instead, there must be investment in prevention methods that tackle root causes and support long-term societal change. 

At Zero Tolerance we believe that a Scotland free from men’s violence against women and girls is possible – we can create a world where we all live peacefully and respected as equal members of our community. But as the recent murders have shown, our communities continue to suffer from high levels of men’s violence against women and girls. We live in a Scotland where violence in schools is inspired by misogynistic online content, and anti-rights movements are sowing division.

We must all shift our focus to changing the environment that produces violence and abuse. We must cultivate conditions across our communities that allow equality, empathy, and respect to take root.

We can create a Scotland where everyone can thrive by:

• implementing policies that strengthen equality between people and address inequality
• enhancing community cohesion
• embedding prevention throughout education to challenge harmful stereotypes from an early age 
• designing and building a gender equal online world to tackle online misogyny and technology-facilitated abuse. 

We can all play a part but it requires investment. We call on the Government for a properly resourced approach that centres the voices of the most marginalised, engages men in the conversation and recognises that everyone benefits from equality’. 

ENDS

Media enquiries:

Rachel Adamson, Co-Director, Zero Tolerance

Call 07484 046367 or email info@zerotolerance.org.uk

Notes to Editors :

About Zero Tolerance

Zero Tolerance is a Scottish charity working to end men’s violence against women by promoting gender equality and challenging attitudes that normalise violence and abuse. We work to end violence against women through tackling the root cause of this violence - gender inequality.

https://www.zerotolerance.org.uk/

Zero Tolerance offers a range of resources for journalists including free stock images to illustrate articles dealing with violence against women.