They have an idyllic reputation and were recently declared the best place to bring up children in the UK.

But new evidence show Scotland's Northern Isles have exactly the same problems with domestic violence as big cities such as Glasgow, but had previously failed to support victims.

In the last year alone Shetland Women's Aid has seen its case load almost double from normal levels and neighbouring Orkney is seeing similar trends.

Now services in both archipelagos are determined to get over that women and children are not immune to violence just because they don't live in a tough scheme in the west of Scotland.

Many of the horror stories have emerged after Shetland Women's Aid appointed a new Independent Domestic Abuse Advocate, providing backing previously unavailable on the islands.

Support worker Karen MacKelvie said: "It seems wholly unreal here, in seemingly affluent Shetland. Some of the stories we hear would match any written in the media and it's scary how much still remains behind closed doors.

"It illustrates how important it is not to remain silent about what we've seen.

"And we've seen it all here. Every category of gender-based violence comes through our door, from commercial sexual exploitation to sexual assault and rape to honour-based violence but by far the biggest category is still domestic abuse, the scourge of homes across the world, where one person in a relationship decides they are entitled to hold the other person hostage in their own home and strip them of their human rights and it's time to blow the lid off.

"It's time to have a real honest look at Shetland life and Shetland attitudes and admit that some of them are due for an upgrade."

Ms MacKelvie said: "We've seen an expansion in demand for our services. When we first set up the IDAA service for high risk clients we did not expect it to be full to overflowing all the time, but we are.

In fact right across the service there is generally more work on our plate.

"We are seeing more and more cases of sexual assault and rape, as well as more cases where a woman has been living with domestic abuse for decades and comes forward for the first time."

The numbers, on islands with just over 20,000 inhabitants, back up Ms McKelvie's impressions. Shetland Women's Aid are currently working with 87 women and 50 children and young people.

Over the year the total so far is 176 women and 101 children. This compares to previous years where on average they would deal with around 85 women and 60 children over the whole year.

In Orkney, demand for services have risen 40 per cent over the last two years. Local workers believe the rise is down to people feeling more comfortable coming forward, especially in a closely knit community where secrets can be hard to keep.

Official domestic abuse and sex crime figures across Scotland have soared in recent years, partly because Police Scotland has focused on such issues in a way that some previous local forces did not.

However, the most recent Police Scotland do not reflect the rise in demand for services from Women's Aid.

In Shetland there were 35 incidents recorded in April-June 2015, exactly the same number as in the same period of 2014. The police, however, did take them more seriously, statistics suggest.

The proportion of such incidents recorded as a crime rose from under a third to more than a half.

Women's Aid stress the islands are no worse than the rest of the country - but island communities often face unique problems in tackling such issues. These include concerns that it is harder for victims to enjoy anonymity in an island community.

Louise Simpson Wood, Children and Young Person's worker said: "Certainly in the children's service we have to be incredibly flexible and creative to help young people access our service.

"Working within a small community we are all aware that client anonymity can be compromised. So for young people to access the service we have to tread really carefully and listen to where they would be most comfortable going for an appointment and meeting them there.

"We have to think out of the box for clients to access our service.

"We're a Shetland-wide service, trying to cover 15 inhabited islands where there is limited public transport. Sometimes a woman doesn't have the bus fare to get into Lerwick because she's been denied any money of her own."

Zelda Bradley stressed that providing shelter to women and children fleeing abuse posed real logistical challenges.

She said: "For women to be safe they may have to take two ferry trips with their children and all their belongings. Everyone on that ferry will know where they are going and all their problems. It's impossible to be under the radar on Orkney.

"If we make a home visit to someone on the island everyone will know who we are and why we are going to see them. That means we have to try and find other ways to help women and often we have to be quite creative about it."

To help tackle the problem both Orkney and Shetland have invited Michael Kaufman, the co-founder of the White Ribbon Campaign to visit the islands.

The White Ribbon Campaign is the largest effort in the world of men working to end violence against women. Michael is a world leading expert on ending violence against women, encouraging active fatherhood, and promoting more positive ideals of manhood. His visit this week, is being funded by the National Violence Reduction Unit.

Chief Inspector Graham Goulden, who is travelling with Mr Kaufman, said: "We know that both crime and violence in Scotland is declining. However sexual violence and domestic abuse cases are regrettably on the rise. Let's be clear 'gender equality' is not just about making things better for girls and women, such equality it good for boys and men too."

Mr Kaufman said: "In Scotland, in Canada where I’m from, and all around the world, women have been courageously standing up to abusive relationships and working to raise public awareness about the violence committed by some men. Finally, more and more men are saying, 'We belong at your side'.

"After all, the majority of men don’t use physical, sexual, or emotional violence in our relationships. But historically we’ve been silent about the violence committed by some of our brothers."

Welcoming the visit from Micheal Kaufman and Chief Inspector Goulden Karen MacKelvie said: "It is a call, to the vast majority of Shetland men, who we know are not abusive and who could help put forward a strong response to the problem and help get the message out that it's not okay."