Marac-to-Marac Transfer Toolkit Scotland Launch

Ensuring safety beyond borders: the Marac-to-Marac transfer process

The Marac-to-Marac transfer process helps Marac professionals support victim-survivors who move across local authorities, bridging gaps and maintaining safety across geographical boundaries.

Relocation does not end domestic abuse—risk fluctuates over time, and perpetrators often adapt their tactics. This is why a robust and seamless transfer process is crucial in preventing individuals from being worse off and less supported through moving.

Relocation doesn’t end abuse – risk is dynamic

Risk is not static – it can increase or decrease depending on changing circumstances.

Relocating can sometimes increase risk, particularly if the perpetrator is able to track or contact the victim-survivor, continues to exert control through digital means, or follows them to the new area. Moving may also lead to isolation from support networks, which can heighten vulnerability.

In other cases, relocation can provide increased safety by reducing immediate physical threats and enabling access to better support services, whether formal or through family and friends.

A new resource: the Marac-to-Marac transfer toolkit

The new Marac-to-Marac Transfer Toolkit offers practical guidance on how to effectively manage risk during transitions, emphasising the importance of proactive information sharing and coordinated multi-agency support.

By adopting this toolkit, Marac professionals can work together to improve consistency so that victim-survivors can receive protection and support wherever they are or move to.

Explore the toolkit 

Why risk must be continuously assessed

Given the changing nature of risk, it is essential that professionals regularly review risk assessments rather than treating them as a one-off exercise.

The Dash Risk checklist is not just a tool to be completed at the point of referral—it should be revisited when significant changes occur, such as relocation, new relationships, or shifts in perpetrator behaviour. This ensures that risks are being actively managed and that safety planning remains responsive to the individual’s evolving needs.

The ongoing impact of abuse after relocation

A common misconception is that once a victim-survivor moves away from the perpetrator, the abuse will stop. While geographical distance can provide relief from immediate physical abuse, it does not necessarily eliminate psychological, financial, or digital abuse that can persist, nor the threat of further physical abuse.

Many survivors continue to experience harassment, coercion, and emotional abuse long after they have left a relationship. This is why ongoing risk assessment and multi-agency support are critical.