Hansard

I speak in favour of passing the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill.

The bill creates a specific statutory offence of domestic abuse. Currently, the criminal law focuses on discrete incidents of physical violence or threatening behaviour that causes fear or alarm, and it can fail to recognise the lived experience of domestic abuse as a course of conduct over a period of time.

The new offence, which we welcome, seeks to protect victims who have experienced coercive or controlling psychological or emotional behaviour by creating a new offence of having engaged in a course of abusive conduct even if it was entirely psychological and even if the victim did not, on the face of it, suffer harm as a result of the conduct. Furthermore, as a result of stage 2 amendments that the Government lodged, when the perpetrator, in committing the offence, involves or affects a child or a child sees, hears or is present during an incident that forms part of the course of behaviour amounting to the offence, the offence will be aggravated.

The bill also makes a number of attendant changes, which we welcome. Those include prohibiting the accused from conducting a precognition of the victim or complainer or from personally conducting a defence in court. Judges will be required, in their sentencing, to have regard to ensuring that the victim is not subject to further abuse, and it will be exceptional for bail to be granted when the accused has a previous conviction. Also, as the cabinet secretary mentioned, jurisdiction will be extended such that Scottish courts will be able to try someone for an offence of abusive behaviour that was committed wholly or partly outside the United Kingdom.

The Law Society concluded its very helpful briefing note with these words:

“we would stress that the law must be easily understood by all concerned. The public must be aware of the provisions of the Bill when it becomes legislation.”

That is a very important point.

Earlier this week, I met David McIntosh, the police area commander for Angus, to discuss various issues in the region. Coincidentally, he is also the chair of the Angus violence against women partnership, which sends an important message about how seriously the police take the issue. The discussion turned to today’s debate, and he reminded me that, on average, a woman suffers 22 incidents of domestic abuse before she feels able to report it. He suggested that one of the key benefits of having a bespoke act for domestic violence is that it sends a signal to victims of abuse that there is a specific piece of legislation that is designed precisely for their needs. Having such an act tells them, “You are the victim. You do not need to suffer this, because Parliament has legislated specifically for you. Come forward and the police will hear your voice sympathetically and appropriately, and they will ensure that all is done to protect you.”

The area commander reminded me that, in Angus and throughout Scotland, the number of recorded police reports of domestic abuse is rising, having gone from 36,000 incidents in 2000 to 58,810 in 2016-17. The explanation appears to be the increased reporting of a previously hidden crime.

In the financial memorandum, the Government estimates that creating the new offence will lead to an increase in the reporting of domestic abuse cases of between 2 and 10 per cent. That is good. However, if we take the median projected increase of 6 per cent, the Government’s best estimate is that the increase in costs for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and the courts will be just over £2.5 million per annum. The best estimate for the increase in the cost to the police of dealing with the offence is around £720,000 per annum, while additional costs for the Scottish Prison Service are estimated at just under £1.1 million per annum. That is a considerable amount, which I urge the Scottish Government to consider very carefully when the bill is passed today, as I hope it will be.

I also draw the Government’s attention to the representations on funding that are on page 5 of the Scottish Women’s Aid submission, which are well made and worthy of consideration.

I tried to amend the bill at stage 2, because I was staggered to learn that experiencing domestic abuse is the third most common reason for a homeless application in Scotland and can result in women and children spending months in refuges and unsuitable temporary accommodation. I therefore wanted to amend the bill to require a review of emergency barring orders—orders that would immediately ban a perpetrator of domestic violence from the home of their victim for as long as was considered necessary to secure the victim’s safety. I withdrew my amendment because the cabinet secretary argued that it was unnecessary, as the Government had committed to conduct a consultation on the matter in early 2018. I look forward to that work commencing.

I also have not forgotten my stage 1 representations, in which I made it clear that courts can sometimes seem stacked against domestic abuse survivors, particularly when victims of domestic abuse have to recount their case to multiple sheriffs. Mr Matheson was right to refer to the effect of the court process.

Trials of a one-family, one-judge system to address the issue have been carried out in the United States, Australia and New Zealand. In England, there have been trials of an integrated domestic violence court in which one judge handles the criminal cases relating to domestic violence as well as all accompanying civil matters. A one-family, one-sheriff approach for domestic abuse victims in Scotland is surely worth exploring going forward. I wonder whether, in closing, the cabinet secretary or the minister might address whether such a trial would be possible.

Domestic abuse is monstrous and can cause immense and enduring trauma and harm. It has been sobering to hear and read the testimony of victims and the organisations that support them. They have highlighted the fact that there is behaviour that cannot currently be prosecuted because it does not meet the threshold of criminal conduct. More must be done to support the victims.

There is a gap in our law and the new offence is required. We agree that the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill achieves what is required and we shall vote for it today.