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More women could be killed by men unless Government acts, victim´s family warns
PA Media
Sean Hunter, the sister of Stacy Hunter, made the warning following a summit on tackling violence against women and girls.
Received: 15:44:40 on 15th September 2026

More women could be killed by men unless the Government acts, the family of a murdered mother has said.
Sean Hunter, the brother of Stacy Hunter, spoke following a summit with John Swinney to tackle violence against women and girls.
Following the meeting, the First Minister announced in Parliament that people accused of domestic abuse would be GPS-tracked by October a key feature of “Stacey’s law”.
Stacy was murdered by her estranged husband Jim Mair at her home near Houston.
Mair, whose body was found in the house, had been released on bail after appearing in court weeks before accused of strangling her.
Speaking to the Press Association at Holyrood, Mr Hunter said Mair should not have been released.
He said: “If this had been committed by somebody to a stranger in the middle of the street, and they tried to strangle them to death, I don’t think they would have been released the next day. So why, because it was somebody that she knew, would it be okay?”
Asked if the Scottish Government was doing enough to tackle violence against women and girls, Mr Hunter said: “No, absolutely not.”
He said there needed to be “urgent” and “imminent” action for the people “being tormented right now”.
Mr Hunter warned of the dire consequences if urgent action is not taken by the Government.
He said of the summit: “It was pointed out the amount of names that are in the headlines at the moment in the last few weeks of deaths of women, and I think that’s the consequence we’re going to get more names.
“Unfortunately, it’s inevitable, and I think the difference is that rather than just accepting there are going to be names and do nothing about it, accept that we can potentially lessen the amount of names.”
Danielle Conaghan, whose former partner was jailed for 12 years after raping and attempting to murder her, told the First Minister that serious offenders must not be let out on bail.
“That’s when they go on to make these horrific offences,” she told the PA news agency.
Ms Conaghan said she spent 13 days in the major trauma unit “fighting for my life” and, while her former partner was out on bail, he came to her hospital.
The mother said the First Minister’s comments had to be “backed up with actions”, adding: “It’s horrible to see most of these crimes are being committed by people who have been let out on bail.”
She said many of the crimes against women were “one million per cent avoidable”.
Ms Conaghan said teaching young boys and men about coercive control could make a “huge difference”.
During his speech to Parliament, Mr Swinney promised to invest in programmes to help young people challenge harmful stereotypes about women and girls, including a “multi-year, public health campaign aimed at boys and men to challenge misogyny and harmful behaviours”.
He also said the £2 million Fund To Leave was being made permanent, providing “practical and financial support to women and children leaving abusive partners”.
“Before recess in October, we will lay regulations to enable the piloting of GPS monitoring for individuals on bail, including those suspected of domestic abuse,” he announced.
He told MSPs that “increased priority and leadership” had to be given to tackle the “epidemic of violence against women and girls in Scotland”.
“I want to make clear in this debate today my commitment and the urgency I feel to act on this issue.
“I do this both as the First Minister and also as a man, because it is men who commit this violence, it is men whose behaviour needs to change.”
Mr Swinney added: “In online spaces and on social media, views that are unacceptable, even abhorrent in the mainstream and in our communities, are given a platform and an audience.”
He said an “utter absence of regulation” contributed to these views being “amplified”, claiming that “certain arenas, such as the manosphere and accessible pornography, have warped views and attitudes”, with this leading to “violent and exploitative behaviours with very real and very dangerous consequences for women and for girls”.
The First Minister said his Government was “committed to addressing the root causes, the cultural causes of gender based violence”.
Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay, who organised the summit, thanked the First Minister for attending.
But he criticised the government for having “weakened” bail laws, against the advice of organisations such as Scottish Women’s Aid.
“The government weakened bail laws in 2023, by removing a specific presumption against bail for domestic and sexual violence.
“They did so despite Victim Support Scotland, Scottish Women’s Aid, and others warning that doing so presents a serious risk to the safety of female victims”
Referring to cases such as that of Stacy Hunter, he said that “dangerous me” were “freed to kill”.
Mr Findlay said while there could  be “flagrant” breaches of bail laws he added that “often nothing happens”
“Let’s fix bail laws, let’s enforce them,” he urged.
The Tory added: “Let’s address the behaviour of young men. If we can’t drain the social media swamp then let’s protect children from it, and yes let’s warn children about the toxic attitudes of dangerous online clowns like the Tate brothers.
“But, especially, let’s fix Scotland’s criminal justice system. Bold, effective and immediate actions are needed now.
“The tragic headlines might never stop but they can be reduced.”