Domestic Abuse

Legislation has been passed giving more powers to police and courts and social landlords to protect people at risk of domestic abuse.

From May the majority of domestic abuse summary trials in Aberdeen Sheriff Court will be conducted virtually, with only the accused person and their solicitor having to be present in the court premises, Sheriff Principal Derek Pyle has announced.

A new policy setting out how Aberdeen City Council’s housing service will deal with incidents of domestic abuse was unanimously agreed at a committee meeting yesterday. The policy applies to current and prospective tenants and includes actions to increase awareness and training of council staf

With Homeless Action Scotland invited to submit evidence at stage one of the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Bill, communications and engagement manager Garry Burns outlines the charity's concerns in relation to the housing and homelessness element of the legislation.

A Scottish Government-led board will be established to ensure the effective implementation of proposed new measures to protect victims of domestic abuse. The measures include giving powers to the police and courts to remove suspected abusers from victim’s homes, ban them from re-entering the h

The Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee has backed the underlying intentions behind the Scottish Government’s new Domestic Abuse Bill, but warned that serious practical concerns raised during the course of its scrutiny need to be addressed. Both legal bodies and the police signalled

Communities secretary Aileen Campbell outlines how the Scottish Government is improving housing outcomes for women and children experiencing domestic abuse. The Scottish Government is clear that domestic abuse is completely unacceptable and that all women should be able to access support which

The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) has backed proposals from the Scottish Government that would allow social landlords to end the tenancies of those who commit domestic abuse.

Caroline Gillespie considers proposed additional powers to tackle domestic abuse and recent statistics on charges for, and prosecution of, domestic abuse. Scotland’s police, courts and social landlords may soon be given additional powers to protect victims of domestic abuse. The Domestic Abuse

Social landlords should use a human rights approach to improve housing outcomes for women and children experiencing domestic abuse, a new report has recommended.

CIH Scotland has commended the proposed Domestic Abuse (Protection) Bill going through the Scottish Parliament but called on its provisions to be strengthened to improve the housing rights and better protect victims of domestic abuse. The legislation as drafted would allow a court to place a Domesti

Shelter Scotland is calling for more social housing to be created in Scotland amid persistent concerns that the lack of it stops people leaving an abusive partner.

New legislative proposals to give social landlords more powers to protect victims of domestic abuse have been commended by CIH Scotland. Under the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Bill, which was published last week, social landlords will be allowed to end or transfer the tenancy of a per

Nearly 1,700 crimes were reported under Scotland's new domestic abuse laws in their first year in force, according to new figures. Recorded crime figures for 2019/20 show that 1,681 crimes were recorded under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018, which was enacted on 1 April 2019.

Craigdale Housing Association has decided to mark Scottish Housing Day 2020 by launching its Domestic Abuse Policy and confirming its position as a third-party reporting centre for hate crime. (from left) David Mackenzie, Scott Livingstone, Gillian Hall, Morag Cameron, and Andy McCrystal