Programme to eliminate domestic abuse: FOI release

Information requested

A summary of the work being undertaken to eliminate domestic abuse over the last 5 years and the amount of funding which has been made available by government to support it, with particular reference to work in Schools, Colleges and Universities, and a comparison with the amount of funding provided to Scottish Women’s Aid over the last 5 years.

Response

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed you can contact us to request paper copies.

Most of the of the information you have requested has already been published on the Scottish Government webpages, which cover the periods 2017-2021 and 2021-2023.

For a further breakdown of specific projects, you may wish to contact Inspiring Scotland, who manage funding for the 121 organisations funded through the Delivering Equally Safe (DES) fund. You may also wish to note that in addition to Scottish Women’s Aid, DES funds over 40 independent Women’s Aid groups which provide support services to victim-survivors, some of which are affiliated with the national Scottish Women’s Aid organisation.

DES is the Scottish Government’s funding programme that supports the objectives, priorities and outcomes of Equally Safe, Scotland’s strategy to prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls. The DES fund is managed by Inspiring Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government. In 2021 the Scottish Government’s DES fund committed £38 million initially over two years to the 121 projects focused on providing vital support to survivors, and on essential work to tackle gender-based violence through preventative measures. The fund has since been extended to run from October 2021 to March 2025. Inspiring Scotland provide a full list of the current organisations and details on the projects funded on their Delivering Equally Safe webpage. If you have any specific questions about this fund, please contact the Inspiring Scotland team directly at: DESEnquiries@inspiringscotland.org.uk.

As mentioned above, for an overview of all funding provided to organisations working towards the outcomes in our Equally Safe strategy between 2017-2021, please see: Equally Safe (Violence Against Women and Girls) Fund 2017-2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

For an overview of funding to projects supporting women and girls covering 2021 to 2023 though our DES fund, please visit: Delivering Equally Safe Fund: projects funded - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

With regards to work the government is undertaking within Schools, Colleges and Universities to eliminate domestic abuse, the Scottish Government wants all children and young people to develop mutually respectful, responsible and confident relationships. We are therefore committed to ensuring all pupils receive high quality relationships, sexual health and parenthood (RSHP) education. This contributes to the Scottish Government’s aim of focusing on prevention of genderbased violence, a key aim of Equally Safe.

The Scottish Government funds Equally Safe at School which applies a whole school approach to tackling gender inequality and gender-based violence in schools. Additionally, we fund Rape Crisis Scotland’s national sexual violence prevention programme to local authority secondary schools across Scotland. The programme and Equally Safe at School, aims to provide consistency in approaches to the prevention of sexual violence and contributes to Equally Safe. The amount of funding provided to Rape Crisis Scotland to deliver this programme is listed on the Scottish Government pages noted above, covering 2017-2021 and 2021-2023.

The Scottish Government also funds wider violence prevention action within schools, such as the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) Scotland Programme. This programme gives young people the chance to explore and challenge the attitudes, beliefs and cultural norms underpinning a range of violent behaviours, including gender-based violence. Funding provided to Renfrewshire Council via the DES fund supports the development of MVP into community settings. Information on funding can be found on the Scottish Government page noted above covering years 2021-2023.

The Scottish Government also provides funding to EmilyTest which supports ongoing work in colleges and universities to prevent and improve responses to gender-based violence. Again, information on funding can be found on the Scottish Government page noted above covering years 2021-2023.

You may wish to note that the refreshed Equally Safe strategy, which sets out the Scottish Government and COSLA's on-going commitment to preventing and eradicating this violence and addressing the underlying attitudes and systems that perpetuate it, was published at the start of this month. A new Delivery Plan will follow in the Spring of 2024.

Though separate from the Equally Safe funding structure, the Scottish Government also funds wider violence prevention action within schools, such as the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) Scotland Programme. This programme gives young people the chance to explore and challenge the attitudes, beliefs and cultural norms underpinning a range of violent behaviours, including gender-based violence.

I hope this information is helpful, however if you are unhappy with the response to your FOI request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by writing to Alison Byrne, Interim Director of Equality, Inclusion and Human Rights at: Scottish Government, Area 3-H (North) Victoria Quay, Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response and should be made within 40 working days from the date when you received this letter. We will complete the review in accordance with FOISA as soon as possible, and not later than 20 working days from the day following the date we receive your review request.

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