National scoping exercise of advocacy services for victims of violence against women and girls

Report on the national scoping exercise of advocacy services relating to the criminal justice system for victims of violence against women and girls.


Footnotes

1. See literature review in Appendix 4.

2. Based on the MARAC model developed in South Wales. See Robinson (2004) Domestic violence MARACs (multi-agency risk assessment conferences) for very high-risk victims in Cardiff, Wales: a process and outcome evaluation. Cardiff: Cardiff University.

3. SafeLives. (2016a). MARAC in Scotland Baseline Report. Bristol: SafeLives. Unpublished: provided by the national MARAC development officer.

4. Co-ordinated Action Against Domestic Abuse.

5. Latest information available.

6. Scottish Government (2016) Equally Safe: Scotland's strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls. Edinburgh: Scottish Government.

7. Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015; Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) Act 2016.

8. We are aware that Victim Support Scotland had suggested to its members they could provide a coordinated response to the research team at national level. However, three of its 13 members responded directly to the survey.

9. The term 'domestic violence' is used in much of the literature. The term 'domestic abuse' is used in Scotland.

10. The first MARAC took place in Cardiff in April 2003.

11. https://www.crimesolutions.gov/TopicDetails.aspx?ID=95

12. Henderson, S. (2012). The pros and cons of providing dedicated sexual violence services: a literature review. Rape Crisis Scotland.

13. 175 people have been funded by the Scottish Government to be trained as IDAAs.

14. Since this research was conducted, three-year funding has been made available through the Equally Safe Violence Against Women and Girls Fund and the Rape Crisis Specific Fund.

15. 'No crime' means the police have found no evidence that a crime took place. It does not mean that nothing happened, rather that there is insufficient evidence.

16. The four are: Domestic Abuse Advisory Service (East and Midlothian Public Protection Committee); Forth Valley Accredited Programmes Team - Caledonian Women and Children's Service; Multi-agency Domestic Abuse Response Team - North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership; The National Advocacy Project, Rape Crisis Scotland.

17. The Severity of Abuse Grid was designed (by SafeLives) for use after completion of the risk indicator checklist ( RIC) to help practitioners profile the abuse the client is experiencing in more detail. It also supports an assessment of whether the risk is reducing, over a period of time.

18. Henderson, S. (2012). The pros and cons of providing dedicated sexual violence services: a literature review. Rape Crisis Scotland.

19. The Scottish Government funds 33 Women's Aid groups to employ children's support workers.

20. It is noted that, overall, the trial timescales for domestic abuse cases have reduced significantly in recent years (since around 2014-15) and that conviction rates for domestic abuse are similar to those for other types of crime. This does not take away from interviewees' perceptions of what the barriers are.

21. The judiciary is independent. This quote reflects the speaker's viewpoint.

Footnotes for Appendix Four

1. The literature uses various terms including 'victim'; survivor; 'victim/survivor'. This section uses the term 'victim' as standard.

2. There was significant development of strategic multi-agency partnerships to address domestic abuse in the 1990s. Operational partnerships between statutory and voluntary sector partners were, however, rare.

3. Domestic Violence Matters, based in Islington.

4. The term 'domestic violence' is used in much of the literature. The term 'domestic abuse' is used in Scotland.

5. The first MARAC took place in Cardiff in April 2003.

6. In Scotland, staff who attain accredited training run by SafeLives/Assist/Scottish Women's Aid are called Independent Domestic Abuse Advocates ( IDAAs).

7. Grant awarded to Caada which rebranded as SafeLives mid-stream.

8. An evaluation of the National Advocacy Project run by Rape Crisis Scotland is underway and will report later this year.

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