A former Scottish rugby captain walked free last week after being found guilty of domestic abuse against his estranged wife.
Despite admitting to a five-year pattern of verbal abuse, including shouting, swearing, and other harmful behaviour, he received a community payback order with supervision rather than a more severe punishment.
Gillian Hogg, his wife, has voiced strong criticism of the sentence, stating that it fails to reflect the extent of the abuse she endured. In court, it was revealed that Stuart Hogg harassed her with distressing messages, tracked her movements using a mobile app, and sent her over 200 texts in just a few hours.
Police intervened at their home in February last year, following reports of Hogg “shouting and swearing.” He was granted bail with the condition not to contact his wife or approach her property.
Though Hogg’s sentence could have included a jail term, community service, fines, or electronic monitoring, he was instead placed under a Community Payback Order with social worker supervision for his abusive behaviour over several years.
Gillian Hogg, a mother of four, expressed her frustration with the outcome, saying, “I feel like Stuart’s had absolutely no punishment. My first thought was, is that it? It’s not enough. No sentence will ever make up for the pain he caused me over all these years.”
Sheriff Peter Paterson, overseeing the case, allowed Hogg to skip a progress review scheduled for March 25, 2025, if he complies with the terms of his community order. He acknowledged the unusual nature of the order, emphasising the importance of ensuring it’s effective.
Calls have since been made to revoke Hogg’s MBE, following his guilty plea to a charge of domestic abuse committed between 2019 and 2024. The court heard that Hogg’s abuse stemmed from his frustrations over his wife’s refusal to join in his excessive drinking.
What is domestic abuse?
According to Women’s Aid, domestic abuse is defined as an incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening, degrading and violent behaviour, including sexual violence, in the majority of cases by a partner or ex-partner, but also by a family member or carer. In the vast majority of cases, it is experienced by women and is perpetrated by men.
What counts as domestic abuse
Domestic abuse can include, but is not limited to, the following:
- Coercive control (a pattern of intimidation, degradation, isolation and control with the use or threat of physical or sexual violence)
- Psychological and/or emotional abuse
- Physical or sexual abuse
- Financial or economic abuse
- Harassment and stalking
- Online or digital abuse
Signs of domestic abuse
Anyone can be a victim of domestic abuse, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, religion, socio-economic status, sexuality or background.
If you believe that you are a victim of domestic abuse, there are signs that you can look out for including:
- Being withdrawn, or being isolated from your family and friends
- Having bruises, burns or bite marks on you
- Having your finances controlled, or not being given enough to buy food, medication or pay bills
- Not being allowed to leave your house, or stopped from going to college or work
- Having your internet or social media use monitored, or someone else reading your texts, emails or letters
- Being repeatedly belittled, put down or told you are worthless
- Being pressured into sex or sexual contact
- Being told that abuse is your fault, or that you’re overreacting
How to report domestic abuse?
If you’re a victim of domestic abuse, or know someone who is, and there’s an emergency that’s ongoing or life is in danger, call 999 now.
If you have a hearing or speech impairment, use the police textphone service 18000 or text 999 if you’ve pre-registered with the emergencySMS service.
Other ways to report:
- Online
- By calling 101 (If you have a hearing or speech impairment, use our textphone service on 18001 101)
- In the safety of your local police station (if you require a translator, we can provide someone initially by phone and later in person)
If you’re worried about someone seeing your web history, find out how to hide this visit.
Domestic abuse and making a claim
If you have experienced domestic abuse, you may be entitled to compensation for the suffering you have endured. At AbuseClaims.co.uk, we specialise in handling claims of this nature and are here to provide guidance and support throughout the legal process.
Our team works on a ‘no-win, no-fee’ basis for criminal injury claims. If your claim is unsuccessful, you won’t pay anything. Should your claim be successful, we take 25% (plus VAT) of the compensation awarded. We only receive payment upon the successful conclusion of your case.
You’ll be assigned a dedicated criminal injury adviser who will support you from start to finish, addressing any questions or concerns along the way. If preferred, we can assign a female adviser to handle your case.
Further reading
Physical abuse – abuseclaims.co.uk
Civil abuse claims – Oakwood Solicitors
WHAT TO DO NEXT
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