Equally Safe: final report

Key Achievements: Priority Four

Achievements in Relation to Priority Four

Men desist from all forms of violence against women and girls and perpetrators of such violence receive a robust and effective response.

Objectives

• Justice responses are robust, swift, consistent and coordinated.
• Men who carry out violence against women and girls are identified early and held to account by the criminal and civil justice system.
• Relevant links are made between the experience of women, children and young people in the criminal and civil system

We recognise the importance of holding perpetrators of gender based violence to account and that our legislation reflects the reality of gender based violence. Key highlights are summarised in this chapter.

Improving the Justice response and changing the law

• In the first year of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018, 1,065 charges^[18] under the new legislation were reported by the police to COPFS, with 96% of charges resulting in prosecution. Through the delivery of the Safelives programme, almost 14,000 staff have now completed training and 20,000 officers and staff have completed online learning. Police Scotland have provided additional training to 700 domestic abuse 'Champions' to sustain the change in skills, behaviour and attitudes of their peers; challenging inappropriate language and behaviour, checking service delivery, giving constructive feedback and congratulating good practice. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, who prosecute criminal cases, have developed an in house package of training for prosecutors, including workshop training and self-completion e-learning on the new legislation to help prosecutors understand and appreciate the dynamics of controlling relationships. The Judicial Institute for Scotland also launched interactive blended training for all sheriffs and judges to support the implementation of the Act. The Scottish Women's Rights Centre (SWRC) launched a training video for solicitors, which discusses the benefits of a trauma-informed practice when working with those who have experienced domestic abuse. In order to continue to raise awareness of the new legislation the Scottish Government have worked with Safelives to develop a new online resource^[19] to help support people experiencing, or at risk of, domestic abuse.

“I am proud Scotland is leading the way with this groundbreaking legislation which uniquely recognises the effect of domestic abuse on child victims as well as adults.”
Humza Yousaf, Cabinet Secretary for Justice

Between April and March 2020:

1,065
charges under the Domestic Abuse Scotland Act (DASA) were reported to COPFS

96%
of charges reported to COPFS were progressed for prosecution

14,000
Police Scotland staff have completed Domestic Abuse Matters training

• A working group has been established to take forward the development of a standalone offence of misogynistic harassment and consider how the criminal justice system deals with misogyny, including whether there are gaps in the law that could be filled with such an offence. This followed work by Lord Bracadale to review hate crime legislation, and the subsequent Scottish Government commitment to establish such a group.

Number of incidents or crimes of domestic abuse with a female victim recorded by police
2014/15: 41,564
2017/18: 44,265
2018/19: 44,576

Number of men convicted of domestic abuse
2014/15: 10,796
2017/18: 8,618
2018/19: 8,168

Holding perpetrators to account

• The Caledonian System, a court mandated perpetrator programme for men, women and children, is now available as a court disposal in 19 local authorities, and 75% of the population of Scotland live in local authority areas which deliver the Caledonian. Bespoke training has been delivered to 226 workers as part of the roll out to the new Caledonian areas. Training and briefing on the Caledonian System has also been delivered to sheriffs and judges, and Caledonian has contributed to the design of the Domestic Abuse Matters training being delivered to Police Scotland personnel. The Caledonian are also working with the Safe and Together Institute to explore options to deliver training to Caledonian staff on Safe & Together. As of early October 2020, 778 men in the 6 new hubs have been or are being assessed for the programme and 323 orders have been made. More than 300 women have been contacted during the process of assessing their (ex)partner and 170 have taken up a service, which is 59% of those eligible. There have been 57 requests for a direct service to children. Across Scotland there are currently 798 men who have received a requirement to attend the Caledonian Programme as part of their sentence.
• The Scottish Government continues to explore options around perpetrator programmes, including a further roll out of the Caledonian System and the availability of non-court mandated behaviour change programmes. Initial work is underway to develop demonstration projects which will provide insight into what requires to be in place to deliver non-court mandated work safely, whether or not the area has access to the Caledonian, in particular women's and children's services which will be essential to mitigate risks.
• In 2019, the Scottish Government awarded funding to the Safe & Together Institute and the Improvement Service to provide support and tools to raise awareness of the Safe & Together model across Scotland, and support a shift towards embedding domestic abuse-informed practice across different policy areas. 'A Companion Document: The Safe & Together Model and Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programmes'^[20] was developed in partnership with Community Justice Scotland and in consultation with practitioners trained in both Safe & Together and working with perpetrators. It specifically focusses on Scotland's Caledonian System as an example of an internationally- recognised perpetrator program that engages in an all-family approach that mirrors key values and practices in the Safe & Together Model. A Self- assessment tool and evaluation framework is being finalised which aims to ensure that systems and services are in place locally and nationally that embed and promote good practice by supporting local authority areas to assess, measure and demonstrate the extent to which their workforces, systems and processes are domestic abuse-informed and identify any areas for improvement. Co-produced with local and national Safe & Together stakeholders, it includes a set of performance indicators which aims to support quality assurance and evaluation.

Consultation on Prostitution

In September, the Scottish Government launched the first ever national consultation on prostitution. Respondents are invited to give views on how we challenge men’s demand for prostitution and also ensure support for women when they need it, including to exit prostitution. Views through the consultation are also being sought on men’s attitudes to buying sex, educating young people, reducing the harms associated with prostitution and supporting women involved to exit. The consultation seeks views of everyone with an interest or an insight into the issues, including of course women with direct, lived experiences. A streamlined version of the consultation was also produced to support engagement.

Examples of good practice locally

• Clackmannanshire is currently working with community justice partners to develop a non-court mandated perpetrator programme, which will embed the principles of Safe and Together. To ensure that Criminal Justice Social Workers have the necessary knowledge and skills to engage with perpetrators of domestic abuse, the training for social workers is being reviewed to ensure it reflects best practice from the Caledonian System.
• In Fife, Criminal Justice Social Work Staff have undergone training to respond to perpetrators of domestic abuse and sexual violence. Fife is also rolling out Safe and Together training to encourage staff working within children and families teams and criminal justice teams to keep a focus on the perpetrator’s behaviours and ensure they are able to adequately identify and record the harm that perpetrators cause to women and children.
• West Lothian Council has developed a Domestic Abuse Training strategy that aims to ensure all professional who come into contact with children and families have the appropriate level of knowledge and skills for their role. Tier 2 training has been developed for professionals who may come into contact with survivors and perpetrators of domestic abuse, which includes a Safe and Together briefing to help ensure professionals are able to recognise and hold perpetrators to account for their abusive behaviour.
• East Renfrewshire has created Safe and Together Champions who are now responsible for the delivery of range of training across the Local Authority and third sector and public sector partnership agencies, with the ambition of ensuring East Renfrewshire is ‘Safe and Together aware’. In early 2020, the Champions met with survivors of domestic abuse (coordinated by Woman’s Aid) to talk about their experiences of services during their most vulnerable times and making plans to leave. The key messages from these discussions have been embedded in practitioners’ training to ensure it responds to the lived experience of women and children. Safe and Together Champions have also carried out consultations with practitioners in light of the increased challenges the pandemic has presented, to consider and plan for a new way of working and supporting people in this climate, recognising that this is a time of limited supports and heightened risk to women and children.