Three years after promising to set up a vital fund to help victims of domestic abuse, the SNP Government still don’t even have a timetable for setting it up.
That is the scandalous reality that I uncovered recently through a series of parliamentary questions.
I repeatedly challenged the SNP Government to reveal what they had done about setting up a leavers’ fund, which would allow survivors of domestic abuse to flee their abusers quickly.
That pressure forced the government to reveal that they still don’t know when this fund will be set up, despite agreeing to this proposal way back in 2020.
Such a lengthy delay is unacceptable. There are no good excuses for this hold-up.
SNP ministers are at risk of breaking a promise to vulnerable women.
Charities are scathing about the consequences - it is putting lives at risk.
Sandy Brindley, the chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland, said: “Safety should not have a price tag, but for too many women the cost of leaving an abusive relationship is simply unaffordable. We welcomed the Scottish government’s acceptance that there needed to be a specialist fund in place to offer financial support to women leaving abusive partners and households. It’s really disappointing that there is still no timetable for implementing this potentially lifesaving fund.”
Scottish Women’s Aid echoed that message. Marsha Scott, the charity’s chief executive, said a lack of money was “a matter of life and death for women and children experiencing domestic abuse”. She added that “All of this poses a very real risk to the safety and lives of women and children. Now is the time to act.”
I fully agree with those comments from prominent campaigners for survivors of abuse.
The lack of urgency from the SNP to tackle domestic abuse continues to disappoint me. That’s why I have brought forward my own bill to improve the situation for victims across Scotland.
My Domestic Abuse Prevention Bill would bring in a reporting system for domestic abuse, which would be similar to the sex offenders' register.
It also contains measures that would increase education around domestic abuse, which would help to prevent violence from occurring in the first place.
At the consultation stage, 23 separate organisations voiced support for the proposal.
More than 91 per cent of all people and organisations who responded to the consultation were supportive, with 86 per cent of respondents saying they were “fully supportive”.
We are one step closer to passing my bill and improving the support available for survivors of domestic abuse, although there is a lot of hard work still to do before it can become law.
I hope MSPs from other parties will support my proposal as it would help to protect victims, increase public knowledge of domestic abuse, and give police additional resources to tackle this appalling crime.
I have been heartened by support for the bill from survivors of abuse and I am cautiously optimistic that it can gain cross-party support.
I urge MSPs from every party to consider backing it because it’s time for the Scottish Parliament to do something about this appalling scourge of society.
The government should back my bill and they absolutely must set up the leavers’ fund they promised to bring in several years ago.
All talk and no action doesn’t help victims of abuse. The SNP Government must start delivering on the promises it makes.
