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SafeLives’ Call to Scottish Parliament 2026-31

To end domestic abuse in Scotland we must find what works and help it happen. Tackling and preventing domestic abuse is often seen as solely a criminal justice issue despite cutting across all areas of government business, both nationally and locally. Domestic abuse is a public health emergency and must be tackled as one. 

 

We are calling on the next Government to transform the response to domestic abuse. To end domestic abuse, we need to do more to improve the response for both adult and child victim-survivors of domestic abuse as well as challenging perpetrators to change their behaviours. Without both elements, responses are lopsided and less effective in ending abuse. Tailored support for victims and their specific needs, e.g. age, disability, migrant status is essential: whilst there is no one size fits all approach to victims, the current postcode lottery of provision leaves victims disadvantaged by where they live. We need national provision with local and specialist tailoring, to be at the forefront of government efforts for the next 5 years. 

Between 2023-24, Police Scotland recorded 63,387 incidents of domestic abuse – a 3% increase compared to the previous year1https://www.gov.scot/publications/domestic-abuse-statistics-recorded-police-scotland-2023-24/pages/key-points/ . Only one in five victims ever report to the police. Whilst most of the charges reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service with a domestic abuse identifier are successfully prosecuted, we know from our Domestic Abuse Court Advocacy work that navigating the justice system without support is ‘like walking blindfolded through a minefield’. On average, victim-survivors in Scotland experience abuse for four years before receiving effective support2https://safelives.org.uk/research-policy-library/whole-lives-scotland-report/ .

 

Children experiencing domestic abuse have inadequate support, and their safety and recovery needs as survivors in their own right are too often ignored or misunderstood. We estimate in Scotland that 12,480 children are living with the very highest-risk domestic abuse3https://safelives.org.uk/research-policy-library/whole-lives-scotland-report/ . Our Marac data and close work with frontline services tells us that increasingly, young victims of abuse in their own relationships are at very high risk and are pouring into services; services that sometimes feel ‘not made for them’. 

 

Work to challenge perpetrators in Scotland is primarily limited to interventions specifically focused on post-conviction work for those deemed suitable, and there also remain geographic gaps in provision. In England and Wales, The Drive Partnership, formed by Respect, SafeLives and Social Finance, is working to transform the national response to perpetrators of domestic abuse. In July 2025, the UK Home Office announced a £53 million investment over four years to roll out The Drive Project across all areas of England and Wales. More is needed in Scotland to hold perpetrators to account and facilitate meaningful behaviour change, and it is needed now. 

SafeLives vision is a Scotland where every adult and child lives free from domestic abuse. We want to see a joined-up system that prevents harm, protects victim-survivors sooner, and holds perpetrators to account.

SafeLives works across the whole of Scotland. We specialise in intensive local work, scaling this up to inform national approaches, programmes and training. We know what works. SafeLives stands ready to work alongside the new Government to help it happen.

1. Centre the lived experience of survivors in our response to domestic abuse

We call on the next Scottish Government to:  

  • Embed the authentic voice of survivors of domestic abuse in all stages of policy-making, system design and strategic direction setting. Survivors of domestic abuse are experts by experience. The voices of adult, child and adolescent survivors should be integrated in designing what is available to victims and how we tackle domestic abuse.

This is not just a moral cause but a pragmatic one: lived experience input improves service design. 

  • Commit to SafeLives’ authentic voice principles when engaging and working with survivors of domestic abuse. These principles, co-created with survivors, support those sharing their voice to know what to expect, and encourage engagement that is safe and never tokenistic. 

It was not about reliving my past, but about using my past to effect change.

Authentic Voice Panel Member

2. Invest to end abuse

We call on the next Scottish Government to:  

  • Ensure funding for domestic abuse services is sustained and multi-year; supporting services to plan, deliver and innovate, rather than relying on short-term and fragmented pots of funding. 

Having a sustainable model that meets the scale of this public health emergency will support victims and improve conditions within the specialist domestic abuse workforce. There are green shoots here through existing Fair Funding work which the Government should continue. 

  • Invest in programmes that increase national consistency and quality of the offer to domestic abuse survivors, adults and children – and perpetrator. Reducing the postcode lottery of what is available is vital.SafeLives and ASSIST’s Domestic Abuse Court Advocacy (DACA) project is making real change improving the provision of independent, accredited domestic abuse court advocacy in the criminal justice system.  

 

3. Strengthen the system response for the whole family

We call on the next Scottish Government to:  

  • Invest in MARAC (Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences), by placing them on a statutory footing with minimum operating standards across Scotland and working with COSLA, the Improvement Service and local authorities to improve piecemeal funding. 

These are vital public protection processes operating in every area of Scotland but are not on par with child and adult protection equivalents and victims suffer as a result.

  • Introduce mandatory workforce standards related to domestic abuse.
    Requiring domestic-abuse training for police, court staff, social work, health and housing, tied to professional regulation, means this is not an optional extra. 
  • Encourage commissioning that meets adult and child victims where they are, both in their journey and geographically and perpetrator interventions, to ensure a coordinated and truly holistic response locally and nationally. 

 

4. Prevent abuse  

We call on the next Scottish Government to:  

  • Invest in evidence-based interventions that challenge perpetrators to change their behaviours which helps victim-survivors to become safer, sooner. We know that domestic abuse often repeats and perpetrators may have multiple victims. Stopping their abuse and changing behaviours is key to preventing future harm. 
  • Create a national perpetrator intervention strategy and fund to ensure that behavioural change programmes are available pre- and post-conviction in all areas. 

 

5. Take a cross-government approach to promote societal change

We call on the next Scottish Government to:  

  • Build on the work of Equally Safe and better join funding, strategy and delivery across both national and local partners. Ensure there is increased commitment and action across all government departments, matched to the scale of the problem – with clear accountability. 
  • Champion multi-agency working across the violence against women and girls sector, wider sectors that overlap and between frontline practice, survivor voice, research and policy. This should include clear principles around working together that reflects and understands the systems in which violence against women and girls occurs.  
  • There is a need for work on domestic abuse and wider VAWG to challenge both the patriarchy and to take an anti-racist lens, as well as always considering intersectionality. The role of specialist organisations working with marginalised victims is key, but it is the work of us all.

Too many people remain unsafe for too long simply because they don’t match a narrow idea of what a ‘typical’ victim looks like.

Nanya Coles, Research Manager at SafeLives

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