Forensic Medical Services (Victims of Sexual Offences) (Scotland) Act 2021: child rights and welfare impact assessment

Executive summary

This is an update of the Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment^[1] (CRWIA), which was published in 2019 to accompany the introduction of the Bill for the Forensic Medical Services (Victims of Sexual Offences) (Scotland) Act 2021^[2] (the "FMS Act"). It considers any anticipated impact of the Act on children's human rights and wellbeing in Scotland.

The FMS Act received Royal Assent on 20 January 2021 and, subject to Parliamentary approval, will be commenced on 1 April 2022. The Act places a statutory duty on all territorial health boards in Scotland to provide forensic medical services (FMS) for victims of rape or sexual assault to nationally agreed standards. The Act will establish a legal framework for consistent access to "self-referral" where a person can access healthcare and request a forensic medical examination (FME) without first having to make a report to the police. Self-referral will be available to those who are 16 and over, subject to professional judgement.

Following screening of the full range of impact assessments an updated Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA)^[3] and Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA)^[4] have also been produced. The EQIA, ICIA and CRWIA are the most relevant impact assessments to the secondary legislation being brought forward and changes made during the Bill process.

The Act aims to help realise the rights of child victims enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).^[5] In particular rights under Article 19 (protection from violence, abuse and neglect) and Article 39 (recovery from trauma and reintegration). The key findings section of this document considers any anticipated impact of each individual section of the FMS Act on children under the age of 18 and identifies UNCRC Article compliance.

This update outlines:

• the changes made during the passage of the Bill for the Act which impact on the rights and wellbeing of children;
• the secondary legislation which will come into force on 1 April 2022; and
• the wider work underway to support implementation of the Act that relates to children.