Criminal Justice Modernisation and Abusive Domestic Behaviour Reviews (Scotland) Bill: island communities impact assessment

Consultation and engagement

Part 1 – Criminal Justice Modernisation

Over the course of 2023-24, the Scottish Government consulted on the proposals that form part of the Bill. In total, 30 consultation responses were received, of which 22 were from groups or organisations and eight from individual members of the public. Groups and organisations who responded included legal professionals, members of the judiciary, third sector organisations, police, and officials from various public bodies etc. Views were also gathered on the provision relating to virtual hearings from people with experience of the criminal justice system. The consultation analysis has been published.

Part 2 – Domestic Homicide and Suicide Reviews

The Scottish Government undertook a period of consultation and targeted engagement to inform the development of domestic homicide review model for Scotland. This took place between 1 September – 30 October 2023 and gathered the views of:

• people (those 18 years of age and over) who have lived experience of domestic abuse
• people who have been bereaved due to domestic homicide/abuse
• people working in the field of domestic abuse, for example, police, victim support organisations, social services, health services
• people with lived experience who also work in the field of domestic abuse

To enable the participation of island communities, multiple options for completing the consultation were made available, including an online version of the consultation, the possibility to request a physical copy by post, as well as the opportunity to take part in a group or one-to-one engagement session, either in-person or online.

There were a total of 235 responses, including 31 (13%) individuals with lived experience of domestic abuse or bereaved by abuse, 134 (57%) professionals working in the field of domestic abuse, and 70 (30%) professionals with lived experience working in the field of domestic abuse. Of the 235 responses, 173 (74%) participants took part in one of the 28 engagement sessions that were organised, and 62 (26%) by answering individually to the online consultation.

The sectors represented in the targeted engagement include social services, health, third sector, justice, housing, education, children’s services, victim support organisations, and local authorities. There were 35 organisational responses.

The outcomes of the consultation were published in a consultation analysis report, and the findings were used to inform the next steps.

In addition to partner/ ex-partner homicide, the findings showed that there was near-unanimous support for the following types of deaths to be included within the review model:

• Domestic Abuse Related Family Homicide
• Violent Resistance Homicide
• Domestic Abuse Related Suicide
• Children

Other key findings included strong respondent support for reviews to be undertaken as soon as possible following a death and for the review model to be underpinned by legislation. The Taskforce, Model Development Subgroup, and Task and Finish Groups have been and continue to work closely with relevant agencies to develop the detail of how the model will operate.

It is also worth noting that given the scope of the reviews, there may be some crossover with other review processes in Scotland, such as Adult and Child Protection Learning Reviews and Suicide Reviews. The possibility of undertaking joint reviews is being considered to avoid duplication of work and reduce the potential for re-traumatisation of families/ friends and reduce the burden on organisations, especially where resources may be limited.