Publication - Progress report

Equally Safe delivery plan: year one update

Published: 23 November 2018
Topic: Children and families, Communities and third sector, Equality and rights, +1 more … Law and order
ISBN: 9781787813984

Equally Safe delivery plan was published in November 2017. This report provides an overview of progress made to date and sets out priorities for the year ahead.

Supporting documents

Annex A: Equally Safe Delivery Plan Action Tracker

No	What	Timescale	Who	Progress
1.1	Run a campaign to raise awareness of coercive control and domestic abuse, following the expected passage of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill currently before Parliament	2018/19	Scottish Government	The Bill was passed in February 2018. The Scottish Government is in the process of developing an awareness raising campaign to coincide with implementation of the Act. The Scottish Government will be engaging with key stakeholders as the campaign is developed. The Act will come into force in early 2019.
1.2	Publish refreshed media guidelines for reporting on domestic abuse	Dec-17	Zero Tolerance	The Zero Tolerance Guidance for Journalists on Domestic Abuse was published on 7 December. The refreshed guidance can be viewed at: http://www.zerotolerance.org.uk/resources/what-journalists-need-know-about-domestic-abuse-scotland-bill?destination=node%2F333%3Fpage%3D1
1.3	Raise awareness of sexual violence at an individual, agency and societal level	Campaign planned for summer 2019	Scottish Government, in partnership with third sector, including Rape Crisis Scotland	The Scottish Government and Rape Crisis Scotland plan is to develop and run a major national campaign on sexual harassment and sexism, to raise awareness and encourage behaviour change with a broad societal approach. This was reinforced as a key commitment within the Programme for Government 2018/19. Officials are taking forward the development of the campaign with Marketing colleagues and Rape Crisis Scotland. We are currently in the desk research phase, with plans to engage with key stakeholders for their thoughts on developed materials in the new year.
1.4	Run a major national campaign on sexual harassment and sexism, to raise awareness and encourage behaviour change	Campaign planned for summer 2019		The Scottish Government and Rape Crisis Scotland plan is to develop and run a major national campaign on sexual harassment and sexism, to raise awareness and encourage behaviour change with a broad societal approach. This was reinforced as a key commitment within the Programme for Government 2018/19. Officials are taking forward the development of the campaign with Marketing colleagues and Rape Crisis Scotland. We are currently in the desk research phase, with plans to engage with key stakeholders for their thoughts on developed materials in the new year.
1.5	Reimagine the Zero Tolerance campaign for a modern audience, with a focus on intersectionality and less well known forms of gendered violence	2017-18	Zero Tolerance	End 2017, Zero Tolerance worked with a photographer to take some new pictures, representing issues/groups such as Commercial Sexual Exploitation, FGM, transgender women and disabled women. They also held a number of focus groups (including women with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, young women, LBTQ women, and migrant women) for feedback on the images and input on messaging. Zero Tolerance held an exhibition from the 3rd to the 9th September at Stills art gallery in Edinburgh, with a launch event on the 3rd. It was designed as a travelling exhibition, and the Scottish Government are working with various partners and participants to work out the best ways to take the images and messages further.
1.6	Continue to support work with our partners in the statutory, third sectors and affected communities to raise awareness of so-called honour based violence, including Female Genital Mutilation and Forced Marriage	2017-20	Scottish Government	Awareness raising workshops on Forced Marriage are being developed in partnership with third sector organisations. A range of partners also continue to deliver training on FGM.
1.7	Expand the delivery of the Rape Crisis Sexual Violence Prevention Programme in schools, to increase understanding of consent and healthy relationships	2018-20	Rape Crisis Scotland	The RCS national programme manager started at the end of April 2018. All new prevention workers have now been recruited; workers covering East and Mid Lothian, West and East Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde are already in post at Edinburgh and Glasgow RC centres. The workers covering North and South Ayrshire and West Lothian will begin their posts at the STAR Centre and Edinburgh RC in early July. The Support and Development worker for Moray started in post in late June and preparations for the development of the Moray service are underway. Prevention work in the Western Isles will be delivered twice a year by workers from the existing prevention network.
1.7		2018-20	Scottish Government
1.8	Deliver the Mentors in Violence Prevention Programme to ensure that young people better understand positive and healthy relationships and stand up to violence and toxic masculinity	2017-18	Education Scotland	MVP has expanded delivery from 19 to 22 local authorities, with initial training completed in the newly engaged authorities of West Lothian, Aberdeen city and Dundee. Staff and partners from 161 schools have now been trained. A new scenario on knife carrying has been created in partnership with No Knives Better Lives.
1.9	Through a review of Personal and Social Education (PSE), investigate how consent is taught within early years, primary and secondary schools	By end 2018	Scottish Government	Education Scotland carried out a thematic inspection of PSE in schools. One of the key messages from the inspection was that there should be a greater focus on the issue of consent. Scottish Government is working with stakeholders such as rape crisis to reform the curriculum. The review is likely to be completed by the end of 2018.
1.10	Through the White Ribbon Campaign, increase the number of men and boys becoming actively involved in challenging the negative attitudes and behaviours which serve to condone gender based violence	2017-20	White Ribbon Scotland	Since November 2017 White Ribbon Scotland (WRS) have seen gains in the number of pledges taken ‘never to commit, condone or remain silent about violence against women in all its forms’; with the total number of pledges currently standing at 14,750; which compares well to the 32,100 pledges achieved for England & Wales as a whole. WRS continues to train new volunteers to carry forward the grassroots messages which are designed to tackle the attitudes and behaviours which condone and perpetuate VAW. Currently over 230 volunteers have received this training across 12 geographical areas and Scottish Prison Service establishments, with plans in place over the next three years to recruit, train and support new volunteers in extended roles across Scotland. They have been working closely with other organisations, public bodies and elected officials resulting in collaborations with a wide range of partners. As a result of these collaborations there has been on-going campaigning such as a WRS school week, WRS week being developed within bookmakers shops with Bob Doris MSP, work with young footballers linked to Queen of the South FC, awareness raising and volunteer recruiting by drawing attention to the campaign through decals on all Dumfries and Galloway Council vehicles, WRS courses embedded in some prison establishments, on-going delivery of WRS messages to council staff, public engagement at Glasgow Central Station in conjunction with the BTP, prominent public pledge signings by senior officials, liaising with Gavin Newlands MP in respect of work with Paisley Rugby Club and Renfrew FC and stalls at conferences such as NUS Scotland and the Perth Secondary Schools’ Equality Conference.
1.11	Pilot the development of a ‘whole school’ approach to tackling gender based violence	2017-20	Zero Tolerance	The whole school approach pilot was carried out in two schools, for the purpose of testing the model, and developing and refining materials. The coordinator worked with staff and students to assess current issues in relation to gender equality and gender based violence (GBV), and then to implement a range of measures to enhance the curriculum, policy framework, staff capacity and capability, young people’s engagement and leadership, with an action group to lead on planning and delivery. In both schools many staff and students were very keen to engage and welcomed the opportunity to address issues which were already of concern to them. The pilot has strengthened the materials and equipped us with a good grasp of logistics with which to progress next year’s pilot in two new schools, which will be evaluated by our partners at University of Glasgow. Further, an advisory group with membership including voluntary sector, Scottish Government, Education Scotland, EIS, NHS, Improvement Service and Scottish Youth Parliament has been established to help navigate questions around the direction of the model post-pilot. Focus groups to ensure the perspectives of young people with protected characteristics are included will take place in late August, and logo design is underway to strengthen the programme’s identity. Lessons learned from the first year of the pilot have been shared at the Cross Party Group on Men’s Violence Against Women in the presence of the Deputy First Minister.
			Rape Crisis Scotland
			Education Scotland
1.12	Explore further what good prevention work looks like at national and local levels, to better understand the impact of our interventions and shape future work in this area	2017-20	Scottish Government Zero Tolerance Scottish Women’s Aid	As part our governance arrangements for the Strategy, the Scottish Government will establish a Stakeholder Advisory Forum where it is hoped stakeholders can explore a range of topics and share expertise, including exploring what good prevention works looks like and how we can shape our future work in this area.
1.12		2017-20	Rape Crisis Scotland
1.13	Convene organisations from a range of sectors to explore the role of the media in preventing violence against women and girls, and identify further steps that could be taken in this area	2018/19	Scottish Government	The Scottish Government has agreed a proposal from Zero Tolerance to expand our Write to End Violence Against Women Awards (now in its sixth year) to include a pre-awards seminar. This event will bring together established and early-career journalists, editors and members of the women’s sector to share our learning over the past six years, and to put in place concrete steps for improving media coverage of VAWG the next few years. The event will include a workshop for journalists (particularly aimed at journalism students) on reporting on violence against women, discussion tables, guided by Zero Tolerance staff and a panel including past awards winners and editors aimed at producing practical actions for the next six years.
			Women’s organisations
			Media organisations
1.14	Deliver the Challenging Demand programme to raise awareness of commercial sexual exploitation and build capacity across organisations to address it	2017-20	Women’s Support Project	The Inside Outside exhibition of the voices, photographs and stories of women in the sex industry has toured 13 locations since its launch in March 2017. Materials from the exhibition are used with local Violence Against Women Partnerships for training and building capacity around commercial sexual exploitation. Through the Encompass Network the Women's Support Project are leading on joint work with Police Scotland for the further piloting of the SHAW (support health and well-being visits) as a way to engage with women involved in the sex industry in the indoor settings.
1.15	Through the Developing the Young Workforce programme, develop a holistic approach towards addressing gender stereotypes and norms in schools and education settings	Ongoing	Scottish Government	To advance equality throughout the education system, schools are embedding equality within Curriculum for Excellence. This is being progressed through a clear communication of career options, with significant involvement from employers and colleges. This work is actively targeting equality groups to promote diverse participation across gender, ethnicity, young people with disabilities and care leavers. Delivery partners, Skills Development Scotland (SDS), have set out in their Modern Apprenticeship Equality Action Plan a range of actions to promote more diversity in the successful uptake of Modern Apprenticeship frameworks. Similarly, the Scottish Funding Council has developed a Gender Action Plan to address imbalance on college super courses and university courses. Working in partnership with Skills Development Scotland and Education Scotland, SFC will encourage greater collaboration between our institutions and schools, with a focus on tackling gender imbalances at all stages of the learner journey.
1.16	Develop a resource for early learning and childcare practitioners on promoting gender equality	Mar-18	Care Inspectorate	The Care Inspectorate and Zero Tolerance are co-producing a practice resource promoting gender equality in ELC settings in collaboration with ELC umbrella organisations. The focus of the resource will be to share practice examples in order support practitioners working in a range of ELC settings to promote gender equality and counter gender stereotyping in a non-threatening way. The resource will update ‘Just Like a Child’ and will include references to helpful resources such as books and play materials. It will adopt a similar model to ‘My World Outdoors’, ‘Space to Grow’ and ‘Our Creative Journey’ featuring practitioners narrating how they have made a difference to children through play and activities. The Care Inspectorate’s view is that given the current push to increase the gender balance of the workforce under the expansion, producing an improvement resource regarding children’s experience in ELC settings would make a helpful contribution to the equality agenda. The resource is in the final stages of drafting and it is hoped that it will be launched in October 2018.
1.16		Mar-18	Zero Tolerance
1.17	Work with early learning providers and schools to help them recognise and address unconscious bias and gender stereotyping, including steps to embed good practice from the successful Institute of Physics Improving Gender Balance project across all schools	June 2018 onwards	Scottish Government, with equalities and third sector organisations	As part of the STEM Strategy for Education and Training, it was announced on 7 June 2018 that the Improving Gender Balance project would be extended and embedded across all schools in Scotland including early learning and child centres (ELC), primary and secondary schools. To help deliver this, Education Scotland are recruiting a dedicated team of officers to work with schools to improve gender balance and equity in STEM learning. Although an action within the STEM strategy, the work will continue to prioritise tackling the root causes of gender imbalances through whole school/setting approaches. The focus of the Improving Gender Balance Programme will be widened out beyond STEM to other curriculum areas and, as appropriate, to other equality and equity issues.
1.18	Provide more support for teachers on equality issues, including through the development of an online resource on relationships, sexual health and parenthood information for teachers and youth workers	Resource produced by end 2019	Scottish Government and partners on LGBTI Inclusive Education Working Group	The developers have set up the resource online with draft content and materials for each level (Early Years, P2-P4, P5-P7, S1-S2, S3, S4-6). All of the content is available for feedback from health and education professionals, learners and parents/carers to enable rolling development and refinement. This resource is on course for publication in summer 2019. Progress can be monitored at http://rshpe.scot/
1.19	Develop a set of key messages on healthy relationships and consent for anyone working with young people, in line with the actions set out in the Pregnancy and Parenthood in Young People Strategy	Early 2018	Scottish Government, with key partners	The Key Messages on Consent and Healthy Relationships for professionals working with young people will be published to align with the PSE review to ensure messages around consent and healthy relationship are streamlined. A series of Key Messages for young people directly, one for 14 years old and above and one for primary school age, are also under development.
1.20	Following publication of the refreshed approach to addressing bullying in schools (including bullying based on sexism and gender), develop guidance for monitoring and recording incidents	Working group to be established in 2018	Scottish Government	A consistent and uniform approach to recording and monitoring incidents of bullying in schools has been developed and agreed by a short life working group. The Deputy First Minister agreed to the group’s recommendations regarding amendments to SEEMiS (the schools’ information management system). The first phase of amendments to SEEMiS was completed in September 2018, enabling schools and local authorities identified for the phase one roll out of the new system to begin recording and monitoring incidents of bullying. Further phasing of schools and local authorities will take place through 2018/19, along with further improvements to the SEEMiS system, with a view to a full roll out of the national standardised approach to recording and monitoring being in place by August 2019. Supportive guidance for local authorities and schools on recording and monitoring bullying incidents has been produced and published.
1.21	Promote prevention programmes within the wider context of positive relationships and behaviour in schools, and encourage the harmonisation of prevention approaches across local authorities	2017-21	Education Scotland	Education Scotland continues to deliver a suite of preventative professional learning resources nationally which promote positive relationships and behaviour. These include: nurturing approaches, restorative approaches, solution oriented approaches and Mentors in Violence Prevention. This is currently being linked with the wider national agenda around trauma informed approaches and Adverse Childhood Experiences to ensure consistent messaging. These approaches are also being advocated at local authority level and included in relationship policies.
1.22	Establish an Expert Group on Preventing Sexual Offending involving children and young people, to identify new ways to prevent sexual crime involving young people and mitigate the harm it causes	2017-19	Scottish Government	The Expert Group on Preventing Sexual Offending Involving Children and Young People, chaired by Catherine Dyer CBE, former Crown Agent and Chief Executive of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, met for the first time in January 2018. As part of its work, the Group will consider the breadth of harmful sexual behaviour and preventative measures that are effective against these, and will report back to the Scottish Ministers in March 2019.
1.23	Work with universities and colleges to ensure the provision of a safe environment for students and staff through learning and on campus action, utilising learning from existing practice, relevant recommendations for improvement, and learning from the ‘Equally Safe in Higher Education’ project	2017-19	Scottish Government	Action is being driven by the Equally Safe in Further and Higher Education Working Group, which is meeting bi-monthly. /groups/equally-safe-in-further-and-higher-education-working-group/ The Scottish Government have supported the University of Strathclyde in the development of a Toolkit, which contains a range of resources and good practice examples, to help Higher and Further Education institutions tackle gender based violence. The Toolkit was launched in April 2018. Additional Scottish Government funding of £396,308 over two years (2018 – 2020) has been provided to help with the implementation of the Toolkit in Scottish Higher Education Institutions, and adapt it for use in Further Education. Adoption of the policies and procedures outlined in toolkit, was a key feature of the Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science’s Letter of Guidance to the Scottish Funding Council this year. Led by Universities Scotland, the development of Support Cards for use by staff in colleges and universities. These will contain national helpline numbers and links to online resources for staff. Some 150,000 cards were distributed in early September and the Support Cards was formally launched by the Deputy First Minister in September 2018.
			Higher education institutions
			Further education institutions
1.24	Refresh the Scottish Government’s corporate policy on violence against women, using the Zero Tolerance PACT Resource as a guide	2018/19	Scottish Government	The Scottish Government's HR team have revised our Fairness at Work policy in response to sexual harassment and are considering how best to reflect VAW issues. A short life working group will be set up to review the existing VAW policy against PACT guidance and best practice with a view to publishing on the Scottish Government intranet. We will also look at how to best support our staff, including training for front line HR staff.
1.25	Encourage employers to put in place robust processes to deal with instances of sexual harassment	2018-21	Scottish Government	The Scottish Government’s work to embed a culture of fair work and fair work practices across all workplaces in Scotland is underpinned by the Fair Work Framework, published by the Fair Work Convention in 2016. Officials are working across government and with key stakeholders, including Ministers, employer bodies, trade unions and businesses, to develop an Action Plan which will identify a range of action aiming to encourage and help employers to be fair work employers, including in relation to the safety and health and wellbeing of employees. Ministers have committed to publish the Action Plan by the end of 2018.
1.26	Develop a pilot Equally Safe employer accreditation programme in order to lever better employment practice in tackling gender based violence experienced by the workforce	2018-20	Close the Gap	Close the Gap are in the early stages of developing the Equally Safe Employer Accreditation Programme. An Advisory Group met for the first time 17th April to discuss: a summary of existing research, an overview of project plan and key considerations for a scoping exercise. The programme will be piloted in local authorities with the view of larger roll out in the future. Close the Gap are in the process of deciding which Local Authorities will take part in the pilot project.
1.26		2018-20	COSLA
2.1	Improve strategic consideration of equality implications of spend for gender and other protected characteristics within the annual Equality Budgeting process	2018-21	Scottish Government, with support of Equality Budget Advisory Group	The First Minister has given agreement to developing a focus on gender budgeting in the Economy portfolio, in order to test how government can increase and improve understanding of gender equality in policy making. This work has a number of activities including the commissioning of external experts to partner work to deliver improved Equality Impact Assessment with regard to gender on 2 policy developments and an external training programme for policy and analysts to improve understanding of the causes and impacts of gender inequality. This work will be progressed over 2018 and is led by officials in the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser (OCEA). Progress updates are provided to the Equality Budgeting Analysis Group (EBAG).
2.2	Develop a programme of engagement with key parts of Government to improve understanding of gender in policy making	2018-21	Scottish Government	The First Minister has given agreement to developing a focus on gender budgeting in the Economy portfolio, in order to test how government can increase and improve understanding of gender equality in policy making. This work has a number of activities including the commissioning of external experts to partner work to deliver improved Equality Impact Assessment with regard to gender on 2 policy developments and an external training programme for policy and analysts to improve understanding of the causes and impacts of gender inequality. This work will be progressed over 2018 and is led by officials in the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser (OCEA). Progress updates are provided to the Equality Budgeting Analysis Group (EBAG). The Scottish Government will respond to recommendations on how to improve gender equality in Scotland from the First Minister’s National Advisory Council and give early consideration to the Advisory Council’s advice on putting in place a robust process to ensure that the next and future programmes for government are gender sensitive
2.2		2018-21	Third sector organisations
2.3	Promote use of equality impact assessments at the national and local level to tackle inequality and discrimination across Scotland, as required of many public authorities by the Equality Act 2010	Ongoing	Scottish Government	EQIAs help the SG to develop policies that do not discriminate against, or disadvantage, particular groups of people. The SG Equality Unit provides advice, training and guidance to staff on equality and EQIAs. To support Scottish public authorities in meeting their equality duties, the Equality and Human Rights Commission has produced technical and non-statutory guidance.
2.3		Ongoing	working with public sector partners
2.4	Review the effectiveness of the public sector equality duty with a view to implementing any necessary changes in 2019	2018	Scottish Government	The Minister for Older People and Equalities is considering the timing of the review of the public sector equality duty.
2.5	Create a new Best Start Grant that provides effective support at key transitions in the early years and ensures qualifying parents or carers receive more joined up support from pregnancy through to children starting school	Ongoing	Scottish Government	Royal Assent for legislation was given in June 2018; first payments are projected for summer 2019. Delivery of Best Start Grant (BSG) is on track and progressing well. A consultation on draft regulations ran from 26 March-15 June 2018. We received 52 responses which will help us to finalise policy over the summer. Work is being undertaken to develop systems such as online application form and case management and payments system that will facilitate a safe and secure transition to BSG. We will keep listening to clients to guide development and enable us to get the best out of our systems to enhance the experience of claimants and recipients and ensure Agency staff have what they need to provide a high level of service. A plan to publicise the BSG is in development. This will include communications and marketing activity to launch the new benefit, which will be aligned with ongoing work with stakeholders to ensure that there is an awareness of the new entitlement.
2.6	Take forward a transformative programme to expand free Early Learning and Childcare entitlement to 1,140 hours per year by 2020, including piloting a deposit guarantee scheme for childcare places	2017-21	Scottish Government	Local authorities are already starting to phase in this expansion and have been asked to prioritise phasing in the areas of highest deprivation. The total public sector investment in delivery of early learning and childcare is expected to reach £840 million by the end of this Parliament (2021).
2.7	Increase the flexibility of how this funded entitlement is delivered in order to support more parents to work, train or study, especially those who need routes into sustainable employment and out of poverty	2017-21	Scottish Government	The Scottish Government approach is that, first and foremost, we will deliver the best outcomes for children, helping to deliver both excellence and equity in education; while also promoting greater choice and flexibility for parents in how they access their entitlement to 1140 hours of free ELC by 2020. Parents may take the opportunity offered by this greater choice and flexibility in accessing funded ELC hours to explore employment/study opportunities and whilst that is welcome it is not the main driver of our policy. That will always be improving outcomes for children. There are a number of strands of work going on around flexibility of ELC provision as we move forward with the implementation of the 1140 hour expansion. Face to face engagement on flexibility arrangements will take place over July 2018 with advice being provided to Ministers on legislative change 31 August 2018.
2.8	Deliver a Returner’s Programme to assist women to re-enter the workforce following a career break – funding projects which address the under-representation of women in STEM, increase business start-up rates for women and the number of women in senior positions and encourage men into childcare to help to change the perception of caring as ‘women’s work’	Until June 2018 (following evaluation, consider further funding)	Scottish Government	The Women Returners programme is being delivered across Scotland. As of January 2018, seven projects have been approved with a total value above £235,000.
2.9	Ensure that the Developing the Young Workforce programme addresses issues of occupational segregation by gender, including addressing significant under representation in the take up of certain college courses and modern apprenticeships by women	Ongoing until 2021	Scottish Government	The Scottish Government's commitment to equality of opportunity in apprenticeships is set out in the Skills Development Scotland Apprenticeship Equalities Action Plan. It makes clear the interventions the Scottish Government will make to increase the numbers of underrepresented groups in apprenticeships and to tackle gender segregation where it exists. The 21 Regional 'Developing the Young Work Force' Groups are engaged in a variety of activities aimed at addressing equality issues. A recent audit of the groups revealed that activity designed to address gender imbalance was the most prevalent amongst those activities with a particular emphasis on encouraging girls into STEM subjects.
2.1	Recognising the systemic issues that drive segregation, we will work with gender expert organisations to consider what needs to change to address gender imbalance in the uptake of apprenticeship frameworks	2017 onwards	Scottish Government	SDS are working in conjunction with the Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board (SAAB) to develop a suite of inclusive recruitment practises that are easily accessible and promote recruitment of protected characteristics groups and addressing gender imbalance. This includes showcasing and signposting support for employers on how to take positive action in recruitment in relation to how they market, undertake selection processes, and support young women in the workplace where they are in the minority.
2.1		2017 onwards	Skills Development Scotland
2.11	Deliver a STEM Strategy for Education and Training, to encourage and support people to develop their STEM skills throughout their lives, and to grow STEM literacy in society and drive inclusive economic growth	The strategy was published in October 2017, with a 5-year lifespan; annual reports will be made to Parliament on progress	Scottish Government	The strategy was published in October 2017, with a 5-year lifespan; annual reports will be made to Parliament on progress. The STEM Strategy Implementation Group was established in December 2017 to oversee delivery of the Strategy and bring together data to help the process of implementation. with membership from across the third, statutory sector, higher education etc. Equality is a key theme of the STEM Strategy which outlines a programme of actions for education, training and lifelong learning in Scotland to achieve our goals for STEM, including reducing equity gaps. As part of the Strategy, it was announced on 7 June 2018 that the Improving Gender Balance project would be extended and embedded across all schools in Scotland including early learning and child centres (ELC), primary and secondary schools. This project aims to tackle challenge unconscious assumptions around gender on subject uptake and career choice, particularly in relation to sciences, technologies, engineering and maths (STEM). To help deliver this, Education Scotland will be recruiting a dedicated team of officers to work with schools to improve gender balance and equity in STEM learning. Other activity is also ongoing across the college and university sectors and through Science Centres and Festivals to address gender and other equity factors within the STEM landscape.
2.12	Develop proposals for delivering split payments under Universal Credit, working with stakeholders to explore potential policy options	2017 onwards	Scottish Government	Following discussion and agreement with the DWP the Scottish Government will make an announcement on how and when split payments can best be delivered in due course.
2.13	Continue to set out strong opposition to the UK Government’s policy of restricting benefits to 2 children and the subsequent requirement on women to disclose they have been raped to access further benefits	Ongoing	Scottish Government	Ministers continue to reiterate their opposition to this policy. The Scottish Government has issued a joint letter of guidance from the Chief Medical Officer, Chief Nursing Officer and Chief Social Work Advisor providing advice to health care and social work staff on supporting people seeking assistance with the exemption to the 2 child cap on certain welfare benefits. The was drafted in consultation with NHS Health Scotland, COSLA, BMA, RCN, RCM, BASW, SWS and SSSC.
			COSLA
			Third Sector orgs
2.14	Develop guidance for professionals who may be asked to act as third party assessors for the exemption where a child is conceived through rape, to ensure that women seeking such an assessment receive the right support	Spring 2018	Scottish Government	The Scottish Government has issued a joint letter of guidance from the Chief Medical Officer, Chief Nursing Officer and Chief Social Work Advisor providing advice to health care and social work staff on supporting people seeking assistance with the exemption to the 2 child cap on certain welfare benefits. The was drafted in consultation with NHS Health Scotland, COSLA, BMA, RCN, RCM, BASW, SWS and SSSC.
			COSLA
			Health Scotland
2.15	Undertake a scoping exercise to determine the feasibility of having a co-ordinated cross-Government action plan to ensure greater equality within the labour market	2017 onwards	Scottish Government	We have established a Gender Pay Gap Working Group that includes stakeholders such as Close the Gap, Engender and STUC. The working group will identify action to reduce gender pay gaps across Scotland as part of the Scottish Government’s inclusive growth vision – these actions will form a Gender Pay Gap Action plan.
2.16	Under the Labour Market Strategy, work with key stakeholders to understand issues of occupational segregation and how to ensure greater equality within the labour market	Ministerial working group established and work ongoing	Scottish Government	The Minister for Business, Fair Work & Skills will shortly chair the first meeting of the recently convened Gender Pay Gap Ministerial Action Group. The group draws in expertise and representation from gender equality NGOs, trade unions and academia and has been tasked with developing a meaningful set of actions for Ministers consideration by the end of 2018. These will focus on areas where the Scottish Government has responsibilities but will also consider reserved areas that impact on the pay gap. These recommendations will be developed into a Gender Pay Gap action plan. Work has already begun on the development of actions across a range of themes including employment, education, social security and employability. This will involve stakeholder and cross Government input to the development of draft recommendations for the consideration of the Ministerial Group. Throughout the process we plan to engage with employers and women in the labour market to discuss actions for tackling the gender pay gap, this will include issues regarding occupational segregation.
2.17	Continue to take forward a range of actions to tackle pay inequality, change employment practices and workplace cultures to support gender equality and tackle the pay gap and support and promote the development of family friendly workplaces across Scotland	Ongoing	Scottish Government	We are providing £205,000 to Close the Gap for July 2018-June 19 to challenge and change employment practices and workplace cultures. Close the Gap have developed a free online toolkit to assist employers to report their gender pay gap to comply with the regulations. We are providing £750,000 to the Workplace Equality Fund which supports employers to deliver innovative solutions to overcome workforce inequalities, including helping them to identify and close their pay gaps. We are providing £159,000 in 2018-19 to Family Friendly Working Scotland Partnership to support and promote development of family friendly workplaces.
			Close the Gap
			Family Friendly Working Scotland Partnership
2.18	Tackle pregnancy and maternity discrimination in partnership with the Equality and Human Rights Commission through the working group whose remit includes creating guidelines for employers to ensure best practice, as well as improving access to guidance for pregnancy women and new mothers	Group has agreed programme of activity to take forward commitments; review in December 2018	Scottish Government & Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)	The Scottish Government is working with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to tackle pregnancy and maternity discrimination. A working group has been created chaired by the Minister of Employability and Training. It has a remit to create guidelines for employers to ensure best practice and improve access to guidance for pregnant women and new mothers. To date the Working Group has met seven times – in December 2016; March, June, October 2017, February 2018, May 2018 and September 2018 – with public, private, union and third sectors represented and a gender balance achieved. Members are working through a Work Plan. A summary paper of the work undertaken by the groups is available at http://www.employabilityinscotland.com/key-clients/women-and-work/pregnancy-and-maternity-discrimination-working-group/
2.19	Ensure the successful bidder(s) to deliver devolved employment services demonstrate clearly how they will deliver a service that is gendered in terms of understanding the needs of women seeking employment; and use levers at their disposal to encourage employers to consider flexible working approaches which enable more women to take up a broader range of opportunities	April 2018 onwards	Scottish Government	Successful providers delivering the new devolved employment service-Fair Start Scotland (FSS), were asked to include in their bids how they would deliver the service for those groups with protected characteristics. As the service is being delivered, providers will provide updates at Contract Performance Reviews (CPR’s) on what actions they are taking in this area. Examples of best practice will be highlighted and circulated amongst all providers to encourage similar and consistency across the 9 delivery lots. SG Employer Engagement Officials and providers promote flexible and innovative working approaches with employers- highlighting how this approach supports women to take up employment and training opportunities, allowing employers to grow their businesses. In 2017-18, as part of the contract monitoring process, Modern Apprenticeship training providers were required to complete an Equality Action Plan outlining what action they were taking to address under-representation on apprenticeships. Training providers are asked to demonstrate how well they are performing in relation to our equality requirements through the self-assessment and quality action planning process. Providers who bid for a 2018-19 MA contract were asked to evidence their intended approach to improving representation within their contract. Throughout 2017-18, SDS ran training sessions for contracted MA training providers on a variety of equality topics. In 2017-18 the Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board Employer Equalities Group have developed employer guides on inclusive recruitment. These have now been published. https://www.apprenticeships.scot/take-on-an-apprentice/inclusive-recruitment/
2.20	Identify and promote practice that works in reducing employment inequality for minority ethnic women, (including in career paths, recruitment, progression and retention) and reflect suitable actions in a Race Equality Action Plan	Plan published in December 2017	Scottish Government	As part of the Scottish Government’s Race Equality Action Plan, the Ethnic Minority Women’s’ Network (EMWN) has been established and is organised by one of the Scottish Government's intermediary bodies, CEMVO. The EMWN had its first events in February and May 2017. Its September 2017 forum focused on the Race Equality Framework employment goals and on the Equally Safe strategy with the Violence Against Women and Girls Unit. In February and April 2018 there was a meeting of the EMWN advisory forum to determine its function and role in the network. On 25 June 2018 the EMWN Advisory forum held a meeting in the Scottish Parliament to establish the Terms of Reference.
2.21	Double the number of workers in Scotland receiving a pay increase to the real Living Wage (from 25,000 to 50,000 workers) and focus particular attention on low paid industries such as hospitality and tourism	2017-21	Scottish Government	Scottish Government officials are working close with Poverty Alliance (backed with £340k in 2018-19) and other stakeholders including COSLA, to support Ministers’ ambition for Scotland to be a Living Wage Nation by 2021. This involves expanding the Living Wage Scotland recognition and accreditation scheme, through which we aim to both increase the number of employers paying the Living Wage and workers receiving the Living Wage. It will also involve targeted activity to increase wage rates for the 20% of workers in low pay sectors, e.g. hospitality and tourism, to realise the benefits for workers and businesses of paying staff the Living Wage.
2.22	Introduce the Workplace Equality Fund to address long standing barriers in the labour market so that everyone has the opportunity to fulfil their potential	2017-19	Scottish Government	The Workplace Equality Fund (a £500,000 one-year fund) opened on 8 February 2018. Nine projects will be funded (£315,608 for 2018/19) through the Fund’s first round. These projects will: - support women returners back into the finance sector; - help a range of companies become age-inclusive; - build flexible and agile workplaces for companies in the construction, STEM, finance, technology, and furnishing sectors; - improve mental health in the workplace; and - deliver training in leadership and boardroom governance to women in the technology sector. A second round of applications opened on 2nd July 2018 with applications closing on 30th August 2018.
2.23	Continue to work with stakeholders to ensure that the new employment tribunal system in Scotland provides access to justice and contributes to the Scottish Government’s vision for Fair Work being embedded in workplaces throughout Scotland	Ongoing	Scottish Government	UKG continues to refine the drafting of the Order in Council (OiC). We await provisions relating to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) meaning that the composite ‘offer’ (ET and EAT) to SG remains unknown.
2.24	Improve gender equality in sport and physical activity through our Sporting Equality Fund, Women and Girls in Sport Advisory Board and the inaugural Scottish Women and Girls in Sport Week	Ongoing	Scottish Government	Women and Girls in Sport Advisory Board has been established and membership announced.
2.24		Ongoing	SportScotland
2.25	Progress the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Bill through Parliament, which sets a “gender representation objective” for public boards in Scotland that 50% of the board’s non-executive members are women; requires certain steps to be taken in the appointing of non-executive members to achieve the objective; and also requires steps to be taken to encourage women to apply to become a non-executive member of a public board	Earliest commencement will be in 2018	Scottish Government	The Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 30 January 2018 and received royal assent on 8 March 2018. Consultation on draft guidance and draft regulations is expected in the autumn of 2018. The Act will then be brought fully into force by spring 2019.
2.26	Continue to deliver the Partnership for Change 50/50 by 2020 campaign, encouraging companies and organisations from across Scotland’s public, private and third sectors to sign up to a volun-tary commit-ment to work towards gender balance on their boards by 2020	Ongoing; As of January 2018, 217 organisations have signed up to the campaign	Scottish Government	As of June 2018 - 219 organisations have signed up to the campaign.
2.27	Monitor the impact of the Equal Representation in Politics self-assessment tool over 2018-2020, to inform a new set of actions to increase representation in elected office across all protected characteristics	2018-21	Scottish Government	The Equal Representation in Political Parties self-assessment tool, which can be accessed online or via a dedicated app, allows any member of a political party to measure how well their party is doing in a range of areas, and will then produce an equality improvement plan for the party. Examining all areas of party life from culture of meetings through to selection processes and manifesto writing, the tool recognises that improving representation has to happen at all levels of politics, not just elected office. The Scottish Government is currently considering the next steps in the dissemination and evaluation of the tool and will seek views from the Equal Representation Coalition, who developed the online tool with funding from the Scottish Government.
2.28	Consider how the anonymous voter registration scheme can be made more accessible to those who have suffered from abuse	Ongoing	Scottish Government	The Representation of the People (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2018, which were made on 28 February 2018, expanded the list of ‘qualifying officers’ able to provide an attestation that there would be a risk to an individual’s safety when an individual is applying for an anonymous entry in the electoral register. In addition, a number of court orders were added to the list of documents which could be used as evidence to support an application. Anonymous electoral registration was also included in the Government’s recent consultation on electoral reform. The responses are currently being analysed and the Government expects to publish the analysis and its response to the consultation in late summer.
2.29	Engage with community safety partnerships to explore how they can embed Equally Safe in their work	2018-21	Scottish Government	Violence against women partnerships are currently engaging with SCSN partnerships locally to explore any opportunities for those relationships to be improved.
2.30	Convene a roundtable on what more can be done to tackle online abuse and misogyny	2018	Scottish Government with key partners	This commitment is now reflected in the Scottish Government's Programme for Government. Plans to convene a round table that will be co-chaired by the Minister for Older People and Equalities and the cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government are in place for the 28 November 2018.
2.31	Explore the use of technology to improve the safety of women and girls	2018-21	Police Scotland	Police Scotland have purchased and deployed a single national GPS Personal alarm solution, covering the whole of Scotland which is available for high risk victims of Domestic Abuse, Forced Marriage, Honour Based Violence and Child Sexual Exploitation. These devices greatly enhance the legacy provisions and help to engender confidence by providing reassurance that the victim has the physical means to summons assistance in an emergency situation.
2.31		2018-21	Scottish Government
3.1	Fund a dedicated post in COSLA with a focus on implementing Equally Safe at a local level	2017-19	Scottish Government	The post holder now appointed and commenced work 10 September 2018. The post holder will work closely with the Scottish Government and key stakeholders to help embed Equally Safe at a local level.
3.2	Develop and publish draft violence against women quality standards for those responding to victims and survivors	2018	Scottish Government	The Equally Safe Quality Standards and Performance Framework, developed by Scottish Government, CoSLA and the Improvement Service with input from the Violence Against Women Partnership Network, were published in May 2018. The Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities and the CoSLA Lead for Wellbeing wrote to all council leaders and Chief Executives on 10 May 2018.
3.3	Explore the potential value of using legislation outside of the Justice space to embed Equally Safe as a key driver in localities	2018-21	Scottish Government with key partners	The Scottish Government will establish a stakeholder advisory forum that will explore this issue and invite input from key stakeholders.
3.4	Continue to support the delivery of a National Helpline for Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage and a National Rape Crisis Helpline	2018-20	Scottish Government	The current contract has been extended until March 2019 to ensure provision over the tendering process. The tender is currently open, bids will be evaluated over October 2018 and the successful bidder informed in beginning of November 2018. The new contract will run from beginning April 2019 - end March 2021 with three optional 1 year extensions. We are also currently providing £166k funding per annum for the Rape Crisis Helpline.
			Scottish Women’s Aid
			Rape Crisis Scotland
3.5	Develop an information resource about gender based violence for children and young people, to provide better access to information and support	2018-21	Scottish Government with children’s organisations	The Scottish Government will liaise with Children’s Organisations to progress this work.
3.6	Review how violence against women partnerships are resourced locally and identify how they can ensure a focus on all forms of gender based violence	2017-21	Violence Against Women Partnerships Improvement Service	The Equally Safe Quality Standards and Performance Framework includes indicators on the funding that is being invested to tackle VAWG at a local level, and the extent to which VAW Partnerships are working to tackle all forms of VAWG. Each local authority area has been requested to provide data on these indicators by the 31st July and this information will then be used to inform future work that is taken forward to progress this action.
3.7	Support local violence against women partnerships in their improvement journey, and work to ensure that every local authority in Scotland has a high performing partnership linked to other local structures.	2017-21	Scottish Government	The Scottish Government has funded the Improvement Service to provide ongoing support to all VAW Partnerships across Scotland. Since November 2017, the IS has provided bespoke support to 10 VAW Partnerships as well as continuing to provide general support to all VAWPs via coordinating the National VAW Network. This has included: facilitating self-assessment and improvement planning workshops with 2 VAWPs; facilitating strategic planning workshops with 2 VAWPs and delivering awareness raising inputs to 6 VAWPs. Support sessions have been scheduled with additional VAWPs for later in the year. Through the Equally Safe Quality Standards and Performance Framework, each local authority area has been asked to report on whether they have a strategic plan in place that: - identifies the outcomes the VAWP is working to, to implement Equally Safe locally; - identifies the activities the VAWP will prioritise in order to achieve its agreed outcomes; & - links directly to the CPP’s Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP). The Improvement Service is currently collating responses from Local Authorities.
			COSLA
			Improvement Service
3.8	Coordinate and embed Equally Safe at a local level through the development of individual Delivery Plans and establishing effective links through Community Planning Partnerships	2017-21	Violence Against Women Partnerships	In the Equally Safe Quality Standards and Performance Data Returns that were submitted by local authority areas in Summer 2018, 39% of local multi-agency VAW Partnerships reported having a plan in place that outlined how they would implement Equally Safe locally that linked to other relevant Strategic Plans within their CPP area and an additional 19% reported having some form of VAWG Strategy and/ or Delivery Plan in place locally. Data returns are still to be received from the remaining 42% of local authority areas. Over the coming year, the Improvement Service will share good practice from those local authority areas that report having high quality delivery plans and effective links with Community Planning processes. It will also provide support to those local authority areas who do not currently have these plans and structures in place, to help facilitate the effective implementation of Equally Safe at a local level.
3.9	Scope the development of a sustainable model of capacity building around responding to gender based violence for public services	2017/18	Scottish Government	SWA is working in partnership with the Improvement Service and Engender, to undertake capacity and infrastructure building, with a focus on the development over 2 to 3 years of a model for creating and sustaining a national corps of trainers. These trainers will deliver affordable and high-quality gender and gendered VAWG training for public and third-sector organisations, VAWP partnerships, and other policy and service providers across Scotland. SWA is currently undertaking a feasibility study to map infrastructure requirements and research appropriate training approaches. We are about to start the recruitment process for the Building Capacity project staff and hope to have them in post early in 2019. SWA continues to provide an extensive external training programme, which is open to statutory and third sector organisations and we develop and deliver bespoke training for a range of agencies, such as Sheriffs, Safeguarders and Children’s Reporters. In addition, SWA delivers a comprehensive training programme for our members, including a new Coercive Control training the trainer project.
3.10	Deliver the Medics Against Violence Ask, Support, Care programme to raise awareness amongst healthcare students, NHS staff and non-health care professions to spot, document and respond to the signs of domestic abuse	Funding until March 2018	Scottish Government	Multi-professional train the trainers courses provided to 92 individuals so far across medical disciplines and emergency services. Ask, Support, Care programme provided to 200 students including pharmacy and dentistry.
3.11	Consult on how to embed consistent and effective operation of multi-agency structures to support high risk victims of domestic abuse, including consideration of national guidance and the creation of a statutory underpinning	2017-18	Scottish Government	Consultation on whether or not MARACs should be placed on a statutory footing will in November 2018 and will run for three months.
3.12	Commission a mapping of existing specialist support for those experiencing commercial sexual exploitation, to better understand current coverage and good practice	2017-21	Scottish Government	A Multi-Agency Group on tackling sexual commercial exploitation has been established and will explore this further. The group had an initial meeting in September and will meet again in December.
3.13	Consider how support for service providers supporting harm reduction and exit for those engaged in prostitution could be enhanced	2018	Scottish Government	A Multi-Agency Group on tackling sexual commercial exploitation has been established and will explore this further. The group had an initial meeting in September and will meet again in December.
3.14	Develop and publish multi agency guidance setting out how agencies, individually and together, can protect girls and young women from FGM, and how to respond appropriately to survivors	Guidance published November 2017	Scottish Government in partnership with agencies	In November 2017, the Scottish Government published Multi-Agency Guidance 'Responding to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Scotland'. The guidance provides a framework within which agencies and practitioners can develop and agree processes for working collaboratively and individually to promote the safety and well-being of women and girls and supplements agencies and organisations own policies and procedures on FGM.
3.15	Develop a programme of work on service improvement and training around gender based violence with Learning Disability services and workforce in the third and public sectors	2017-20	NHS Health Scotland	An advisory group with NHS, Learning Disability (LD) & VAW organisations and Adult Protection colleagues has been established with an agreed action plan for 2018-19. This includes a survey of current public sector and 3rd sector staff training and experience of GBV and LD, the findings of which are being used to inform the Advisory Group; a pilot training course with Talking Mats (TMats) incorporating understanding of GBV and using TMats to improve communication with women with LDs around the issue of abuse, and to support identification and disclosure of GBV; guidance for staff is being developed at present and will be consulted on in draft form in the autumn; ongoing communication with Keys to Life to ensure that the issue of GBV is factored into the refresh of the national actions developed to deliver strategic outcomes.
3.15		2017-20	Scottish Commission for Learning Disability
3.16	Deliver the ‘Voices Unheard’ programme in order to support LGBT young people experiencing violence and build capacity within violence against women services to ensure that they are LGBT inclusive	2017-20	LGBT Youth Scotland	Voices Unheard has been leading into the Youth Commission on Housing and Homelessness, whose primary focus is on LGBT experiences of homelessness and the link to experiences of domestic and familial abuse. Their key findings are available on the LGBT Youth Scotland website. They continue to engage with professionals across the VAW and housing/ homelessness sectors to influence and support them to be LGBT inclusive, through service reviews, presentations, events and workshops.
3.17	Continue to press the UK Government to extend the scope of the Destitute Domestic Violence concession (for those with who are destitute and have no access to public funds) to include all women with insecure immigration status, including asylum seekers	2017 onwards	Scottish Government	The Cabinet Secretary wrote to the Immigration Minister about the recommendations made by the Equalities and Human Rights Committee, following its Inquiry into Destitution, Asylum and Insecure Immigration Status in Scotland, including the recommendation to extend the Destitute Domestic Violence concession, on 7 August 2017. No reply was received, so the Cabinet Secretary wrote again on 23 May 2018.
3.18	Take forward the development of a strategy to prevent and support those who may experience destitution as a result of insecure immigration status or no access to public funds, including consideration of the establishment of an advocacy service and the provision of crisis support covering domestic abuse	2017 onwards	Scottish Government and key partners	The Scottish Government is undertaking scoping work with partners for the development of an anti-destitution strategy covering people with no recourse to public funds, following the launch of the second New Scots refugee integration strategy in January 2018. We are also working with COSLA to update the Scottish guidance on no recourse to public funds. Other recommendations made by the Committee, including for an advocacy service, will be considered in the context of the anti-destitution strategy.
3.19	Assess progress of NHS Scotland against the World Health Assembly Global Plan of Action on preventing and tackling violence against women	Report will be published in April 2018	NHS Health Scotland	Report on progress against World Health Assembly plan of action is not yet complete as it is still awaiting some data from boards.
3.19		Report will be published in April 2018	Scottish Government
3.20	Develop an action plan to strengthen the health sector response to gender based violence	2018	Scottish Government	Consultation with NHS Health Boards is continuing in relation to development of a national action plan.
			NHS Health Scotland
			NHS Boards
			Health and Social Care Partnerships
3.21	Continue roll out of routine enquiry in key settings of mental health, sexual health, health visiting, substance misuse and maternity, including RIC assessment where appropriate	Ongoing	NHS Boards	Routine enquiry training continues to be rolled out across boards. Health Scotland have just completed a national training programme on the use of the DASH RIC by Health Visitors (HV) in line with the requirement in the Universal Health Visiting Pathway that HV carry out risk assessment using the RIC following disclosure of domestic abuse. The training combined a refresh of routine enquiry and risk assessment. Over 1300 HVs have been trained across Scotland. Health Scotland have also trained HV students at University of West of Scotland where routine enquiry and RIC training has been incorporated into their curriculum. New guidance on risk assessment is being produced for HV and mental health staff.
3.21		Ongoing	Health and Social Care Partnerships NHS Health Scotland
3.22	Review the potential for inclusion of gender based violence in the Public Protection responsibilities of Health and Social Care Partnerships and NHS Boards	2018	Health and Social Care Partnerships	A number of boards have already incorporated GBV into their public protection work. An update on this will be provided as part of the national action plan.
3.22		2018	NHS Boards
3.23	Strengthen governance arrangements for forensic medical services for victims of rape and sexual assault, to ensure a trauma informed, consistent health care response to those requiring a forensic examination as part of an overall health focussed assessment	Ongoing	Scottish Government	The Scottish Government is leading work to clarify the statutory basis for the existing Memorandum of Understanding, including the delivery of forensic medical examination services by Health Boards for those who choose not to report to the police. We will be consulting on proposals to legislate during Y3 of the parliamentary term (2018/19).
			Police Scotland
			NHS Health Scotland
			(through established Taskforce)
3.24	Support Health Boards to ensure that they are ready for the implementation of National Standards in this area developed by Healthcare Improvement Scotland and work with HIS to develop Quality Indicators to underpin these standards	National Standards published by end 2017; rollout in 2018/19	Scottish Government	Each Health Board now has a Nominated Lead responsible for working with multi-agency partners to deliver the key priorities set out by the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland when she met with NHS Chief Executives in April 2018. These leads have been tasked with establishing a Short Life Working Group to undertake a self-assessment against the HIS standards to inform a gap analysis and local improvement plan due in September 2018. The Scottish Government, with the support of the newly appointed National Coordinator Colin Sloey, are assisting Boards throughout this process. Scottish Government has provided funding to Health Improvement Scotland (HIS) to develop quality indicators to underpin the new standards. A working group has been assembled and the draft indicators will be going out for wider consultation in Autumn 2018. This work should be complete by December 2018. Work is also underway through the Quality Improvement sub group of the CMO Taskforce, to consult with stakeholders on potential data sets and a paper on current activity and demand is complete. This will support continuous improvement in planning, commissioning and monitoring of services.
			Police Scotland
			NHS Health Scotland
			(through established Taskforce)
3.25	Consider the best model for the design and delivery of services, including workforce planning issues to provide a sustainable service and choice regarding the gender of forensic physician, as well as the use of IT to drive continuous improvement in the planning, commissioning and monitoring of services	2017-21	Scottish Government	On 27 June 2018 the Taskforce held an Options Appraisal event, engaging a wide range of stakeholders in order to carry out a robust options appraisal reflective of victims of sexual violence across Scotland. The recommended model of service delivery for forensic medical and healthcare services in Scotland is a Multi-Agency Centre/Co-ordinated services for adults, children and young people. The group also recommended a local service configuration, delivered as close as possible to the point of need and supported by a centre of excellence. The new service model will deliver equitable and person-centred care that meet the HIS standards, across Scotland. The SG are funding NHS Education Scotland to train 100 new forensic physicians in the updated ‘Introduction to Sexual Offence Examination’ course with the aim of increasing the number - of particularly female doctors - who are able to undertake this work. NHS National Services Division are also scoping the requirements for a clinical IT system.
			Police Scotland
			NHS Scotland
			(through established Taskforce)
3.26	Ensure appropriate SG funding so that court waiting times for criminal domestic abuse cases are in line with agreed targets without impacting disproportionately on waiting times for other cases	2017-21	Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service	From 2015-18, additional Scottish Government funding of £2.4m per year was provided to SCTS and COPFS Courts and Crown to help reduce court waiting times for criminal domestic abuse cases. The vast majority of cases are being called within 10 weeks of first calling. We have now baselined funding of £2.4m to the Courts and Crown Office to pay for judiciary, court staff and fiscals to ensure the efficient progress of domestic abuse cases through the courts continues.
			Crown Office
			Scottish Government
3.27	Continue to keep under review opportunities for improvement in the management of how criminal justice domestic abuse cases are progressed within Scotland, including the consideration of Domestic Abuse courts where appropriate and case management solutions where a Domestic Abuse Court is not considered appropriate; and consider criteria to minimise transfer of High Court trials where cases involve sexual offences	2017-18	Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service	The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service is committed to considering how it can reduce the transfer of High Court trial locations in sexual crime cases which can cause additional stress and trauma to rape complainers when awaiting their trial. The Scottish Government is also funding research which will focus on legal professionals’ understanding of domestic abuse and its implications in child contact cases, exploring the interaction between the criminal and civil justice systems. In addition, a Justice Analytical Services PhD internship project is currently examining the evidence base on Integrated Domestic Abuse courts, in particular exploring the availability of evidence around the effectiveness of this approach.
3.28	Explore a pilot of recording of complainer’s initial statement to the police, to be used as evidence in chief in any subsequent trial	2017 onwards	Rape Crisis Scotland	The Scottish Government is committed to working with partners to explore the pilot. The pilot is at an early developmental stage. An advisory group has been convened and membership includes Crown Office, Police Scotland, Rape Crisis Scotland
			COPFS
			Police Scotland
			Scottish Government
3.29	Improve the experience of vulnerable witnesses in criminal justice cases, initially focusing on child complainers and witnesses by bringing forward legislation to enable the greater use of pre-recording of their evidence	2017-19	Scottish Government	The Vulnerable Witnesses (Criminal Evidence) (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 12 June. The main purpose of the Bill is to improve how child and vulnerable witnesses participate in our criminal justice system by enabling the much greater use of pre-recording their evidence in advance of the criminal trial. The Bill is focussed on child witnesses with the main provision creating a new rule that there should be pre-recording for child witnesses including complainers (not child accused) in the most serious solemn cases. The Bill also includes a power for the proposed new rule to be extended to adult “deemed vulnerable witnesses” in solemn cases in the future. This could potentially include complainers in sexual offences, human trafficking, stalking and domestic abuse cases.
3.3	Consider the prohibition of the personal examination of a child or other vulnerable witness in court proceedings under the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 by where the subject matter of the proceedings relates to conduct by that party towards that witness, or to other conduct which concerns the welfare of that witness	2017-18	Scottish Government, SCTS, Family Law Committee of Scottish Civil Justice Council and Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration.	Paper considered by Family Law Committee of the Scottish Civil Justice Council on 30 April 2018 (http://www.scottishciviljusticecouncil.gov.uk/committees/family-law-committee). Scottish Government and Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration considering next steps. Consultation on Review of Children (Scotland) Act 1995 seeks views on whether to ban personal cross examination of vulnerable witnesses, including children, in applications to the sheriff to determine whether grounds of referral are established under sections 93,94 or 110 of the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 or in appeals to the sheriff against children’s hearing decisions under that Act.
3.31	Work with justice and third sector partners to improve facilities for taking of evidence (including for pre-recording) from vulnerable witnesses in criminal justice cases	2017-2018	SCTS	The Scottish Government and Justice Partners are considering opportunities to enhance Vulnerable Witness facilities in Glasgow. In addition, we are engaged with justice and health partners to improve forensic medical facilities in Edinburgh following the closure of the facilities at the Royal Victoria. This includes consideration of opportunities to streamline justice and health services in a more victim-centred way.
3.31		2017-2018	Scottish Government
3.32	In relation to child witnesses, support implementation of the Joint Investigative Interviews workstream project report	2017 onwards	Scottish Government	The Scottish Government are working with justice agencies to improve the quality and process for JIIs with vulnerable child witnesses. Work includes enhancing training, updating national guidance and improving technology and facilities for JII’s. We have also committed more than £200,000 to develop a new training programme for frontline staff on carrying out JIIs. The range of approaches to improve the quality and increase the use of these interviews as evidence are being phased in between 2018 and 2020.
3.32		2017 onwards	Police Scotland
3.33	Consult on changes to the law to prevent direct cross-examination of victims of domestic abuse by their alleged abusers in child contact cases before the civil courts	Consultation early in 2018 on potential changes to the Children (Scotland) Act 1995	Scottish Government	A consultation on Review of Children (Scotland) Act 1995 closed on 28 September 2018. This sought views on whether to ban personal cross examination of victims of domestic abuse by their alleged abusers. One of the aims of the Family Law Bill 2019 is to further prevent domestic abuse in child welfare hearings.
3.34	Consider if further steps are required to protect domestic abuse victims in child welfare hearings in contact and residence cases	2017-18	Scottish Government has raised with the Family Law Committee of the Scottish Civil Justice Council	Family Law Committee of Scottish Civil Justice Council sub-committee on case management in family actions reported in October 2017 (http://www.scottishciviljusticecouncil.gov.uk/committees/family-law-committee/23-october-2017-papers) Sub-committee sought further information from the SCTS as to steps that courts currently take to protect parties at child welfare hearings where there is a background of alleged or proven domestic abuse. This information has been published by SCTS (http://www.scottishciviljusticecouncil.gov.uk/docs/librariesprovider4/flc-meeting-files/05-february-2018/paper-2-1a---scts-report-on-steps-taken-in-child-welfare-hearings-where-there-is-an-allegation-of-domestic-abuse---private.pdf?sfvrsn=2) Following on from survey consultation on Review of Children (Scotland) Act 1995 seeks views on whether section 11 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 should be amended to provide that the court can, if it sees fit, give directions to protect domestic abuse victims and other vulnerable parties at any hearings. The consultation closed on 28 September and now considering next steps.
3.35	Consider recommendations from the Advocacy Scoping Report Working Group on the findings from the Scoping Exercise commissioned to help understand the provision of services in this area, with the aim to determine where the provision of services could be extended and improved	2017/18	Scottish Government	The working group is developing its recommendations on how criminal justice advocacy services for victims of violence against women and children can be improved. The Scottish Government will continue to work with partners as this work progresses.
3.35		2017/18	Scoping Report Working Group
3.36	Consider how learning from the National Trauma Training Framework can be incorporated to better inform the development of services, and identify leadership in the justice system to take this forward	Ongoing	Justice Board	Senior officials within the Scottish Government’s Justice Directorate have undertaken leadership training provided by trauma training framework team. Consideration is being given to delivery of the training to the Justice Board. In addition we are considering other avenues linked to implementation of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 to see where trauma training would be appropriate.
3.36		Ongoing	NHS Education Scotland
3.37	Ensure that children’s interests are better reflected in the civil justice system and that their voice is heard, including through review of the process used to obtain the voice of the child in contact and residence cases	Ongoing; SG public consultation on part 1 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 due to be issued early in 2018	Scottish Government, SCTS, Lord President’s Office, Family Law Committee of the Scottish Civil Justice Council	Following a policy paper by the Scottish Government on the voice of the child in December 2015 the Family Law Committee of the Scottish Civil Justice Council are currently working on a revised version of the F9 form to make it more child friendly. Consultation on the Review of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 sought views on how best to obtain the views of the child in contact and residence cases. It also sought seeks views on whether to remove the presumption that a child aged 12 or over is of sufficient maturity to express their views. One of the aims of the Family Law Bill due to be introduced this parliamentary session is to ensure that the voice of the child is heard.
3.37			Justice agencies
3.38	Incorporate the views of children and young people with experience of domestic abuse through the Power Up Power Down project into the review of part 1 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995	Public consultation issued.	Scottish Government	As part of the consultation on the Review of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 held engagement sessions with a number of children and young people. This includes events with Scottish Youth Parliament, Children’s Parliament and Scottish Women’s Aid. Some of the events with Scottish Women’s Aid included children who were involved Power Up/Power Down and Everyday Heroes. We also ran a child friendly questionnaire at the same time as the consultation on the Review of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. We received approximately 300 responses to this questionnaire.
3.39	Consider the application of lessons from various international examples of the ‘Barnahus’ concept for child victims in criminal justice cases and how these could potentially apply within the Scottish context	2017-18	Scottish Government	The 2018 Programme for Government includes a commitment to take forward work with key stakeholders to consider how to apply the Barnahus concept in Scotland. This work is now being supported by specific internal resource allocated to the Violence Against Women and Girls and Barnahus Justice Unit within Criminal Justice.
3.39		2017-18	Children 1st
3.4	Continue to fund the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre as a model for legal services in criminal cases, consider the currently unmet need for victims of gender based violence and the appropriate model of support for women, children and young people experiencing violence with a view to expansion of service provision taking place in 2018 or 2019	Ongoing	Scottish Government	Funding for the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre is funded through the Scottish Legal Aid Board and Violence Against Women and Girls Justice budget. The Scottish Government and SLAB are working with the SWRC to consider the model of delivery for the Centre and support expansion of the service into other geographical areas.
3.41	Work with justice and third sector partners to consider the development of a single point of contact model for victims of crime	2017 onwards	Scottish Government	Programme for Government contains a package of commitments related to improving the support provided to victims of crime. This includes working with VSS on the development of a new victim centred approach to reduce the need for victims to have to retell their story to several different organisations and the development of a new Homicide Service, giving families of murder victims access to a dedicated case worker and continuous support. This will be operational by spring 2019. In addition, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice will chair a new Victims Task Force to improve victims’ experiences of the justice system. The first meeting will take place before the end of 2018.
3.42	Consider an extension of the list of prescribed offences in relation to Victim Impact Statements	2018	Scottish Government	Programme for Government contains a package of commitments related to improving the support provided to victims of crime. This includes a commitment to ‘widen the range of serious crimes where the victim can make a statement to the court about how the crime has affected them physically, emotionally and financially, consulting on specific details by early 2019’
3.42		2018	COPFS
3.43	Consult on Emergency Barring Orders, including on issues around exclusion orders	Public consultation due to be issued in 2018	Scottish Government	Consultation paper will shortly go to CSCL for clearance with the issuing of the paper expected soon.
3.44	Consider the current provision of support for victims of stalking within the context of development of a one-stop shop for victim support	2018	Scottish Government	Support for victims of stalking will be considered as part of the work to develop a new ‘victim-centred’ centred approach (3.41 above).
3.45	Support the development and roll-out of a smartphone incident recording app for survivors of stalking and its potential wider application to other forms of gender based violence	2017-18	Scottish Women’s Rights Centre	FollowIt App is an incident recording app for smartphones, enabling victim/survivors of stalking to record incidents that demonstrate a course of conduct which causes them fear and alarm. The app will enhance investigations into stalking cases by providing a clear and concise aid memoire. The App is available via SWRC where survivors can also access safety planning, signposting to support services and legal information / advice about their rights. The delivery model for the app has been revisited following an initial pilot after it was identified that there was poor awareness of stalking and of legal remedies stilted sign up. A second pilot will be launched in summer 2018 with and awareness raising video circulated across the VAW sector for victim / survivors and workers to improve awareness and promote access to the App. The sign up process is remarkably simple and has been further revised to centralise this process at SWRC.
3.46	Support Fife Council to address the key findings from the Scottish Women’s Aid report “Change, Justice, Fairness”, and deliver an action plan to improve their local housing officer response to domestic abuse	2017-20	Scottish Government	SG officials have been in contact with Fife Council around the report. John Mills, Head of Housing was on the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group and was able to feed in appropriate views from the report to inform the recommendations.
3.47	Consider lessons learned from the work with Fife Council, and share that with other local authorities with a view to them improving their own housing response	2019 onwards	Scottish Government	SG officials have encouraged the Housing Options hubs to discuss this at their meetings. Scottish Women’s Aid has been invited to attend a number of these meetings to share the learning of the report.
3.48	Ensure that commissioned training resources of local authority housing and homelessness hubs incorporate domestic abuse competence	2017-21	Scottish Government	The training toolkit is currently going through procurement. A commitment has been given to involve Scottish Women’s Aid in the development of the toolkit itself.
3.49	Develop options for funding short term supported housing, including domestic abuse refuge providers, to ensure that they continue to receive appropriate resources for their work.	2017-20	Scottish Government	The funding of supported accommodation is subject to a UK review. SG awaits an announcement by UKG on the next steps (provisionally end of July). Women’s Aid refuges are a key part of the thinking of the UKG.
3.5	Explore the current effectiveness of the social work response, and consider steps to improve this	2017-21	Scottish Government	Discussions on this will be taken forward in due course.
3.5		2017-21	Social Work Scotland	Discussions on this will be taken forward in due course.
3.51	Establish a Safe and Together Institute for Scotland, and support the development of a demonstration project on the ‘Safe and Together’ model of child protection in a domestic abuse setting – encouraging a common understanding that perpetrators of abuse should be assessed and held accountable on their parenting choices which includes the perpetration of domestic abuse	2017 onwards	Scottish Government	The Scottish Government has funded Social Work Scotland to commission scoping work to consider how best to support development of the Safe and Together model in Scotland. The scoping work includes consultation with local authorities and key stakeholders. The work will be completed in late 2018.
3.51		2017 onwards	Safe and Together Institute
3.52	Review how national and local specialist services for women and children experiencing gender based violence are commissioned and funded, and how we can ensure quality and sustainability of service	2018 onwards	Scottish Government	Scottish Government, COSLA and the Improvement Service will progress this commitment with meetings to take place late 2018/early 2019 to discuss how to move forward.
3.52		2018 onwards	COSLA
3.53	Support local third sector organisations receiving funding from the Equally Safe (Violence against Women and Girls) Fund to improve governance, financial management and sustainability	2017-20	Scottish Government	VAF has delivered a series on workshops to organisations funded within the ESVAWG Fund with good feedback. These include Building Sustainable Projects, Financial Governance, Financial Management and Good Governance. Development Support Plan for 2018/19 has yet to be finalised, which will consolidate on the learning as well as identifying and sharing good practice from the sector.
3.53		2017-20	Voluntary Action Fund
4.1	Progress the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill through Parliament to create a specific offence of domestic abuse that will cover not just physical abuse but also other forms of psychological abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour that cannot easily be prosecuted using the existing criminal law, with a statutory sentencing aggravation to reflect harm done to children through the abuse of their parent/carer	2017-18	Scottish Government	The Bill was passed in February 2018 with implementation expected in April 2019.
4.2	Consult on the terms of the child cruelty and neglect offence contained in the Children and Young Persons Act 1937, including whether the offence requires to be modernised to include emotional and psychological abuse and archaic language removed	Early 2018	Scottish Government	A consultation was launched on 23 August 2018 and will close 14 November. The consultation sets out the Scottish Government’s proposals for a modernised offence, including making it explicit that ‘emotional harm’ is within the scope of the offence.
4.3	Streamline the process of applying for a Forced Marriage Protection Order, by legislating to bring Police Scotland in as a third party for the purposes of application	By end 2017	Scottish Government	The Scottish Government amended the Forced Marriage etc (Protection and Jurisdiction) (Scotland) 2011 Part 1 Section 3(1), allowing Police Scotland to become a relevant third party and allow them to directly make applications for Forced Marriage Protection Orders. The Forced Marriage etc. (Protection and Jurisdiction) (Scotland) Act 2011 (Relevant Third Party) Order 2017 was laid in parliament 21 December 2017 and passed on 19 March 2018. Following discussion with key stakeholders in the Scottish Government facilitated Forced Marriage network, it has been agreed that civil remedies for those at risk of forced marriage are most affective and that the application process for a Forced Marriage Protection Order (FMPO) could be made easier for police. This SSI brings Police Scotland within the coverage of section 3(1). Doing this would allow Police Scotland to apply directly to a court as required, without first having to seek permission before making the application. This will remove a step from the application process and may help in securing an order quickly when there may be a need to act promptly to keep a person who is at risk safe. Statutory guidance is in the process of being updated.
4.4	Consider the recommendations of Lord Bracadale’s review of hate crime legislation, particularly as it relates to gender as a protected characteristic and online misogyny	Mid to late 2018	Scottish Government	On 31 May this year Lord Bracadale published his review into hate crime legislation in Scotland. We have accepted his recommendation to consolidate all Scottish hate crime legislation into one new hate crime statute and will use his report and recommendations as the basis for consulting on the detail of what should be included in a new hate crime bill. The consultation will be launched in November 2018.
4.5	Seek reassurance that justice agencies are ready for implementation of the Domestic Abuse Bill including that there is an appropriate level of understanding for those involved in such cases of the new offence of domestic abuse including trauma informed practice for all people who work with women and children	2018	Scottish Government	This reassurance will be sought through the operation of the Domestic Abuse Act Implementation Board over the second half of 2018.
4.6	Develop multi agency domestic homicide reviews with Police Scotland and partners learning from practice in other jurisdictions which have allowed for improvements in practice.	2017/18	Scottish Government	Work on developing multi agency domestic homicide reviews is being led by ASSIST and Police Scotland, who are considering a range of options to take this work forward. This will include the establishment of a working group involving key stakeholders to ensure that consensus on the way forward can be achieved. The Scottish Government will continue to work with partners as this work progresses.
			ASSIST
			Police Scotland
4.7	Work with the Scottish Civil Justice Council on case management in family actions, including in relation to child welfare hearings – recognising that these types of hearings and contact cases require careful consideration to ensure that victims of domestic abuse are protected from further abuse	2017	Family Law Committee of the Scottish Civil Justice Council	Family law Committee of the Scottish Civil Justice Council reported in October 2017 (http://www.scottishciviljusticecouncil.gov.uk/docs/librariesprovider4/flc-meeting-files/flc-meeting-papers-23-october-2017/paper-5-1a---report-by-flc-sub-committee-on-case-management-in-family-actions-(revised)--private34ae4ba7898069d2b500ff0000d74aa7.pdf?sfvrsn=2) Scottish Civil Justice Council have launched a consultation on the report by the Family Law Committee (http://www.scottishciviljusticecouncil.gov.uk/docs/librariesprovider4/consultations/scjc-consultations/consultation-on-the-case-management-of-family-and-civil-partnership-actions-in-the-sheriff-court/consultation-on-the-case-management-of-family-and-civil-partnership-actions-in-the-sheriff-court.pdf?sfvrsn=2
4.8	Expand the innovative Caledonian Programme so that more male perpetrators of domestic abuse can receive specific rehabilitation services designed to address the issues giving rise to their offending behaviour	2018	Scottish Government	In April, the Scottish Government announced additional funding from Violence Against Women and Girls Justice budget of £2.8 million over two years (2018-20) to expand the Caledonian Programme. Local Authorities not currently delivering Caledonian were invited to bid for this funding to support the roll-out of the Caledonian System in their area. Successful bidders have now been announced and the programme will now be delivered to an additional six Local Authorities.

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Annex A: Equally Safe Delivery Plan Action Tracker

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