Domestic violence against women rose to an all-time high last year but the true level of abuse appears to be dramatically higher.

There was a 7% rise in cases of domestic abuse cases reported to police last year, but a separate victim survey indicates that the real number of cases could be five times higher than the official statistics.

In 1999-2000 the recorded incidents of domestic abuse stood at under 33,000 but a steady increase in the number took it to 48,801 last year. This compared with 45,812 the previous year.

However, the statistical bulletin from the justice department shows only cases notified to the police, and this year the department has also published the findings of the 2006 Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey on partner abuse.

This states: "Only one in five victims of force by a partner had reported an incident to the police. More commonly, victims of abuse (whether force or threats) told friends, relatives or neighbours."

Fewer than one-third of those who had suffered physical attack considered this to be a "crime", while only one-quarter of victims considered this to be the case when it came to threats of violence.

The official statistics came as the Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) said Scotland was leading the way in services for female victims of violence. Women in the rest of the UK faced a "postcode lottery" of support services.

Scotland is the only part of the country that has seen an expansion of centres run by the Rape Crisis organisation, and it has a more equal distribution of services for women who have experienced violence, the report found.

The commission and End Violence Against Women (EVAW) Coalition are calling on the rest of the UK to follow the lead set by the Scottish Government, but they also say Scotland could do more on the issue.

Morag Alexander, Scotland commissioner of the CEHR, said: "Preventing male violence in the first place and prosecuting those who are responsible must always be at the forefront of the drive to make Scotland a safer place and here we don't do quite as well."