Following the Scottish Parliament election on 7th May 2026, SafeLives welcome all newly elected and returning MSPs, and the incoming Scottish Government. We hope, and need, to see increased focus and political attention on the public health emergency that is domestic abuse

Five years after the Domestic Abuse Act became law, too many survivors are still not getting the protection and support they were promised.

Domestic abuse is Scotland’s hidden emergency. Survivors are clear; the upcoming election is a chance to change that.

The Police Reform White Paper sets out the government’s intention to rebuild trust in policing and improve how police respond to harm, including domestic abuse and violence against women and girls.

SafeLives stands ready to work with government, the judiciary, probation and wider criminal justice partners to ensure these reforms deliver genuine safety. Victim‑survivors deserve a system that consistently identifies domestic abuse, reduces risk, and holds perpetrators to account.

SafeLives welcomes the Government’s decision to commission an urgent independent inspection into recruitment and vetting standards at the Metropolitan Police.

SafeLives welcomes the Government’s new Violence Against Women and Girls strategy and its commitment to halve VAWG within a decade. That ambition is urgently needed. But it will only be realised if action is sustained, joined up across government, and properly resourced.

Without long term investment that reaches every community, the ambition to halve violence against women and girls within a decade will remain out of reach.

Racism and Islamophobia are making adult and child survivors less safe. Our CADA partners tell us some clients feel so intimidated in their communities that they’ve returned to abusive partners because the streets outside feel more dangerous. Hostile rhetoric and public displays are fuelling fear, not safety.