Meeting of the Parliament 04 November 2025 [Draft]
I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in this important debate, and I welcome the committee’s report. I am a previous member of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee and a current member of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee.
This debate is about confronting a stark reality. For many women in Scotland, leaving an abusive relationship is not just a matter of courage but a matter of survival and, too often, a matter of money. Financial insecurity is one of the most significant barriers that prevent survivors from escaping abuse. It is a cruel paradox that the very act of seeking safety can plunge women and their children into homelessness, poverty and long-term debt.
Let us be clear that coerced debt is a form of domestic abuse. It is deliberate and it is calculated to control. We have all seen that from constituents. Abusers build debt in victims’ names, restrict access to money and weaponise economic dependence. That traps women in dangerous situations and leaves them financially devastated when they escape. In my East Lothian constituency and in communities across Scotland, we see the consequences of that every day. Women who are supported by services in my constituency report being pursued for council tax and rent arrears that were accrued during abusive relationships—debts that they did not consent to and often did not even know existed. Those debts are not just numbers—they are barriers to housing, employment and recovery.
Homelessness is a common consequence. Often, when women flee, they do so with nothing. They leave behind homes, belongings and financial stability. They enter temporary accommodation, uprooted from communities, schools and support networks. When they try to move on, they face systemic obstacles such as rent arrears, council tax debt and up-front costs that make securing a new tenancy nearly impossible. Additional support for citizens advice bureaux, as mentioned by the minister, is welcome. One survivor told Aberlour that
“debt feels like a shadow you can’t escape”.
That is not just unjust; it is unacceptable.
The Scottish Government has taken some necessary steps. The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 made coercive control a crime. The equally safe strategy addresses financial abuse, recognising that systems can worsen economic inequality and hinder women’s ability to leave. When I was a minister, I participated in the equally safe ministerial group meetings and saw how seriously the Minister for Equalities took her responsibilities in that regard.
The new £1 million fund to leave, which I helped to develop in my time as Minister for Housing, provides vital support for women and children who flee abuse. Scottish Women’s Aid chief executive officer, Dr Marsha Scott, said:
“Scottish Women’s Aid warmly welcomes announcement of a roll-out of the original Fund to Leave pilots to the rest of Scotland.
Every day we and our local Women’s Aid services see women and children struggling to get free of an abuser. The Fund to Leave offers a critical helping hand when women and children need it most. ‘Leaving’ is difficult and dangerous, and the Fund to Leave is such an important step to making leaving and staying free from an abuser a reality across Scotland.”
However, we must go further. We need systemic reform of public debt recovery. Debt collection practices must be trauma informed and compassionate, and survivors should not be aggressively pursued for debts that are accrued through abuse. We must embed equally safe principles across all public bodies, not just domestic abuse services. Legal aid must be accessible, which is an on-going issue that we all need to take forward.
Social security systems must be flexible. The UK Government must end policies that deepen poverty, such as the five-week wait for universal credit and the two-child limit, which disproportionately harm women and children who are fleeing abuse.
The debate is about not just policy but dignity. Let us commit to building a Scotland in which no woman is forced to choose between safety and homelessness, children are not punished for the debts of abusers and financial independence is not a privilege but a right.
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