The helpline said more victims feel confident about coming forward

More than 21,000 calls were made to the Scottish Domestic Abuse Helpline (SDAH) last year, an increase of 3% on 2006.

It is believed the rise is because more victims feel confident enough to come forward and ask for help.

The callers were mostly women but a significant number were men and children. Some of the youngsters wanted to get help for their mothers.

The helpline said the problem affected people from all parts of Scotland regardless of age, background and social class.

The calls are not just about physical abuse, many were in relation to psychological or emotional abuse Liz Kelly SDAH

The Communities Minister Stewart Maxwell is now calling for more to be done to tackle domestic abuse.

He said: "While we have made progress in changing attitudes and encouraging women to report domestic abuse, there is still a lot more work to do in tackling this problem.

"The helpline is an important partner for us in tackling domestic abuse and their help has transformed the lives of many women and their children.

He said it was important that people were encouraged to seek help and report incidents to the police so the true extent of the problem could be discovered and perpetrators properly punished.

Helpline number

Liz Kelly, head of training at the SDAH, said: "We have had calls that range from people looking for immediate help to get out of a relationship because of domestic abuse, women looking for refuge accommodation, women who need urgent medical attention or who want to report incidents of domestic abuse to the police.

"The calls are not just about physical abuse, many were in relation to psychological or emotional abuse, which was highlighted by the Scottish Government's awareness campaign."