New figures have revealed that 1,019 incidents of domestic abuse were recorded by the police in the Scottish Borders in 2018-19.
There was a slight decrease in the numbers across the Borders, but the figure remains significantly higher than just 10 years ago.
Across Scotland, the number of domestic abuse cases rose for the third year in a row to 60,641, a new all-time high.
The Scotland-wide rise comes at a time when the SNP have effectively abolished jail sentences of less than a year – risking domestic abusers being let off the hook.
Around four in every five cases involved a female victim and male perpetrator, and the vast majority occurred in a home setting.
In 2019, Nicola Sturgeon effectively abolished prison sentences of less than 12 months.
That provoked a furious response from domestic abuse charities, who warned most offences that resulted in jail time tended to involve sentences of that length.
Mrs Hamilton believes part of the reason why numbers have risen is due to victims feeling more confident to report abuse.
However, the Borders MSP has criticised the decision to abolish short prison sentences by the Scottish Government, which ultimately results in domestic abusers being allowed to return home.
Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire MSP, Rachael Hamilton said:
“It will be very concerning to the people of the Scottish Borders that domestic violence appears to be on the rise, with almost 3 incidents every day within the Borders.
“As domestic abuse charities have pointed out, Nicola Sturgeon’s abolition of short prison sentences could result in abusers being let straight back into homes.
“I fully support the police as they strive to crack down on perpetrators, but this is undermined by a soft-touch SNP government at the top which wants to let such people walk free from court.